


Time Travel? Please, been there, done that

by TooAwkwardToFunction



Series: Peter Parker needs a hug but he doesn’t have time for one [2]
Category: MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Marvel, The Defenders
Genre: BAMF people all over the place, F/F, F/M, Gen, Kinda angst but also, M/M, Peter’s just trying to be an adult, but it’s not working out too well, five feet apart cuz they’re not gay, he needs a hug, like two bros chillin in a hot tub, lots of sass, or maybe they are, pretty chill at the same time, there are gay people in this fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2020-12-28 00:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 30,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21127850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TooAwkwardToFunction/pseuds/TooAwkwardToFunction
Summary: When an unknown dimensional rift opens and spits the Avengers out in a freaky future world where everything is unfamiliar, there’s always friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to help out! Even if he’s a little more depressed than he was when he was a teenager...I dunno, basically just Peter Parker being a BAMF for a long time while everyone is amazed. Just read it, it’s decent





	1. Never jinx the inevitably of a Time vortex

Time Travel. To be honest, Tony Stark had no idea what he was getting himself into. 

When the director of SHIELD comes calling with a dimensional disturbance, you can’t exactly ignore it...despite what Tony had been doing for the past half hour. He assumed Thor, Mr. Thunder in a bottle magical know-it-all, would come up with some sort of solution with the Captain of Freaking America, but no, of course not. 

He had just started on his third glass of scotch when he felt it. A tingling sensation that forced all the hairs on his arms and neck to raise their hands in the air like they just don’t care. Could it have been a drunken hallucination? It has not been out ruled yet, Tony decided as he stood up, his back making a loud popping noise as he stretched. He called to FRIDAY once as he headed towards the common room, trying to shake his uneasiness as he rose floors. 

This must’ve been what Peter’s ‘Spidey-sense’ was like, he thought idly, before shaking it off. That kid was growing on him...he hated how good it felt, to care about someone for once. His thoughts were scrambled when the doors slid open, and he stepped out, immediately drawing the attention of the Avengers. 

Earth’s mightiest heroes...yeah right. The only one in actual uniform was Cap, who probably slept in the clothes. He’d been a lot antsier since the whole accord business, and who could blame him? He was still technically a criminal, recently flown back from Wakanda. They’d kept their distance since then, that’s for sure. Natasha and Clint were in normal lazy Saturday attire, and Bruce was...well, Bruce. Tony sauntered his way over to the rough circle of teammates, nodding tiredly in greeting.

“I suppose we’re waiting for something bad to happen,” He finally said, a little wistfully at that. A rumble of laughter came from behind him, and Tony turned, a little amused, as Thor stomped his way over, laughing.

“I say, Man of Iron is right,” Tony tried to ignore the way his cape billowed behind him, but his mind was already wondering. “Why are we just...standing around? Surely we have some sort of mission!”

Natasha shook her head, a newly acquired knife spun between her fingers slowly. “Fury just told us to come, he didn’t hand out any orders or specifications,”

“We were supposed to assemble,” Clint butted in, then grinned. “No offense, Cap,”

The Captain himself shifted from foot to foot. “None taken.” He replied stiffly, glancing at the elevator for a moment, his shield vibrating with all of his pent up energy. “Why are we here?” Tony shrugged with the rest of the team, before a screen popped up in front of them, glowing red.

“Sir,” FRIDAY boomed from the ceiling, more warnings growing from the first. “The area you’re currently in has just emitted unstable waves in the space-time continuum. The recommended course of action is to evacuate the premise,” Tony raised a hand to call for his suit, and the rest of the team got battle ready as well. Thor’s hammer was crackling with electricity, Clint took his quiver and bow out of nowhere, Natasha a second knife, and Steve lowered his stance. Bruce shifted uneasily, being ushered silently towards the middle of the circle, his relationship with Big Green not being in the best place at the moment.

“I think we may have asked for this,” Tony called through his newly assembled suit, his voice robotic and muffled.

“Well, at least it can’t--”

“Don’t you dare say it,” Natasha glared daggers at Clint, who pouted through his notched arrow. They all stumbled as the world seemed to twist around them. Bruce dropped to his knees at the sheer force of the distortion, Clint and Nat almost following his example.

“What--” The words were sucked out of Steve’s mouth as the world spun out from under them, everything going blurry for a moment. Tony squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for whatever it was to stop. He heard Thor groaned out something in Norse, and he risked one eye open. His scanners were going nuts, picking up the...well, the Tower. The couches and tv were still in place, but something felt off about it all. An eeriness that gathered like a cloud over the room. Nat helped Bruce up from the ground, and Clint rose from an unsteady knee.

“What was that?” Steve finally said, his shoulders still tensed. Tony’s snarky comment died in his throat when they heard footsteps coming from the hallway. They all turned towards the sound, posed for a battle. Tony was about to voice that no real threat would be THAT obvious when a figure rounded the corner into the room.

She didn’t seem to notice them at first, her head bobbing to a beat coming from her headphones. She looked like a regular teen, no older than 15, wearing light washed skinny jeans and an ACDC tank top. Her hair was dark, with red highlights, reaching around her elbows. She finally opened her eyes from an epic lip-sync moment, her expression changing to fear within a second. Her feet stopped, and she looked like she was considering bolting.

“Who are you?” Thor boomed, his hammer raised.

“Hey, chill,” Tony said, his steps clanking against the floor as he tried to step between the two. No way were they going to hurt a kid. Especially not one who couldn’t even have her drivers license.

“I-I,” The girl stuttered, eventually just squeaking. She wiped her phone out before anyone could react, holding it to her ear a split second later.

“Wait. Wait, who are you? Who are you calling?” Tony asked, and Steve raised his shield, probably to intimidate her into answering. Her eyes were blown wide, and finally, a voice came onto the line, accidentally on speaker.

“Hey,” It was male, and groggy, probably someone who had just woken up. “Morgan, what’s up?” Tony exchanged a look with Steve. That voice sounded strangely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. Cap seemed to share his sentiments, cocking his head to the side.

“I-I-I…” She swallowed thickly, her hand shaking violently as she stared at the team in front of her. The line went silent for a moment, then the male spoke again, his tone hardened and dark.

“Morgan, I’ll be right there. Don’t worry.” A beep signaled the end of the call. The girl dropped her phone when Clint spoke.

“Hey, we don’t want to hurt you. We just want to know who you are, and why you’re here,” Her eyes flitted to him for a second, and she took a step back, which made all of them tense.

“Y-you--” Her voice broke, but she tried to recompose herself. “You don’t know me?” She managed, tensing to take another step back. They all raised their weapons, Tony aiming a blaster for any sudden movements.

“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” Natasha said coldly, her hands positioned to throw a knife at any given moment. “We need answers,”

The girl gulped, looking at the windows behind them for a moment. They all waited, knowing she was just trying to distract them. Or at least, that’s what they thought. The silence was broken when they heard glass shatter. A figure flipped through the window, a blur of red and blue, rushing past all of them before they could react. The figure stopped in front of the girl, Morgan, fists raised while he panted heavily. It took Tony’s eyes a moment to adjust after the display, but what he saw shocked him. The figure, male, that stood before them was wearing a Spider-Man suit...but it was impossible that it was Peter. The suit had a giant white spider emblem, and the male was far too tall to be Peter. Who would dress up like him, then? And who would have the ability to crash through a hundred plus story window? But it couldn’t be…

“Who are you?” Thor asked, miffed by the sudden intrusion. The large eyes on the masked man narrowed mechanically, sending shivers up Tony’s spine.

“Who am I? I’m the dude who's about to kick your ass for breaking and entering!” They all startled at that. This was their tower, why would they be breaking and entering? The figure paused as well, then turned to the girl. “Don’t repeat that word, that’s a bad word,” All of a sudden, the figure lost every ounce of intimidation, seeming almost sheepish. The girl had noticeably relaxed in his presence, and she gave him an exasperated look. “Right, sorry,” The guy said, turning back to face Tony and the others, probably blushing under the mask.

“Why would we illegally enter our own tower?” Tony finally said, his blaster focused on the Spidey/not spidey.

“What?” The guy said, finally seeming to notice who they were. “Oh shit, what?” He looked back at Morgan, then stepped completely in front of her. “I swear if this is Mysterio again...I told him I would personally turn his head into a snowglobe--”

“We’re the Avengers,” Clint cut off the guys rambling. “Who the heck is Mysterio?”

“Who’s Mysterio?” The guy repeated, somehow looking baffled through the mask. “Where have you been, man?” Clint didn’t seem to know how to respond to that, just opening and closing his mouth for a moment.

Steve worked his jaw. “We’re asking the questions--”

“Did we establish this as a rule?” The masked man interrupted again. “Because one, that rule sucks, and letter b, I wasn’t present for the rulemaking, so I’d like to veto that claim,” A vein seemed to pop out of Steve’s forehead the more this guy talked, and Tony couldn’t help but find his struggle amusing. The guy took a step forward, and they all shifted back into battle positions. “It’s fun talking, but for once in my life, I’ll be cutting the chit-chat,” The guy rolled his shoulders, and sent a final look at Morgan. She nodded, preparing to dive for cover at any moment.

“What do you mean--” Clint asked, and then all hell broke loose. The spider-guy lunged, shooting, duh, webs out of his wrists, unarming Steve and Nat in one blow. With that sudden movement, Tony’s reactor went off, hitting the guy in the gut with a blast. The guy hissed through his teeth, white lenses turning into slits again.

“It is so on,” He growled, making an exaggerated leap, flipping mid-air to dodge a blow from Thor, while also sticking Bruce, Steve, and Nat to the ground. Clint fired a round of arrows, but the guy dodged all of them with the elegance of a dancer, practically flying the entire time. One arrow snagged Thor’s cape, which the spider redirected with a jump, anticipating this by kicking the arrow into the ground, then punching Thor’s hammer out of his hand. Thor stood shocked for a moment too long, receiving a blow across his jaw. He stumbled to the ground, then passed out. 

Now Tony was scared, the dude just knocked out a frickin god. Clint notched three arrows at a time, but the guy was too quick, dodging all of them while still approaching. Tony aimed a few shots as well, but he only fired a few, afraid of hitting Clint, who was currently locked in hand-to-hand with the spider. The guy jumped over Clint’s attempt at sweeping his legs and launched off of his chest into the air. This slammed Clint to the ground, where the Spidey webbed him up mid-cartwheel. Tony was the last one standing...correction, Tony was the last one to go down. The guy dropped out of his cartwheel, missing a blast from him, then slid underneath Tony’s legs, ripping a piece of metal off of the suit. Tony was too slow to throw him off, and suddenly he could feel the suit powering down, his screens flickering with the sound of sparks. The dude reappeared in front of him, quickly gluing his feet to the ground, then he backed away.

“What the actual fuck,” Clint whisper shouted at Steve, who was still trying to rip through the webs.

“I wouldn’t even try,” The guys slightly taunting voice shook them out of their shock. He was looking at Natasha, who gave him a death glare. “The webs I used are stronger than vibranium, knives won’t cut through them.” They stared each other down for a second, and Natasha finally snapped, trying to kick out from the webs. The guy turned, rushing to help Morgan up from behind the couch. “Are you okay?”

She snorted, holding onto his arm as she surveyed the room. “Am I okay? You’re the one who’s been hit, look, you’ve gotten blood everywhere,”

“Oh, sorry,” He laughed a little, hugging her for a moment, then placing a hand over his stomach. “Adrenaline and all that, I almost forgot,”

“Just because you have a healing factor doesn’t mean you’re invincible. How many times do I have to go over this, Peter?” Tony’s blood ran cold, and he stared at the figure, limping towards a counter.

“Kid?”


	2. Well that didn’t go as planned (there wasn’t a plan)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uhhhhhhhhhhh, so this happened and it’s just like that Spider-Man meme where it’s him pointing at himself, but it’s actually Tony and Peter this time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, me again, still trying my best and failing at it. Well, I hope you enjoyed. Comment if you want, or don’t, that’s also very chill.

Peter turned, staring into the Iron Man mask.

“Excuse me?” He said back, waving Morgan off as she tried to tug him back. “Hold on,” He told her. “What did you say?”

“You’re Peter Parker…” Tony repeated himself. “Kid, Underoos, Spider—”

“Spider-Baby,” He mumbled, crossing through the battle zone, making his way towards Tony’s immobilized suit. “Who…” White lenses stared into the eyes of his own suit, and Tony tried desperately to see through them. The spider pulled back, staring at Cap, then the other Avengers. He quickly turned back towards Tony, opening his arms. “Can I hug you?”

Tony paused for a moment, watching his teammate's eyes widen at the random question. “Uh, no,” Tony said, and he would’ve crossed his arms if he could.

“Holy...it’s really him,” The masked man moved behind Tony again, and after a few subtle noises and sparks, the suit came back online.

Tony whirled, facing the red and blue clad hero, hesitating for a second before he stepped out of the armor. “Kid?” He said carefully, not approaching him any further than he stood. With trembling fingers, the spider brought his fingers to his mask, pausing to take a breath before he peeled it up, revealing a somewhat familiar face.

Sure, his jawline was more defined, with all the baby fat gone. More freckles dusted his sunburnt cheeks, more smile lines, and more prominent bags hung under his eyes. But despite all that, Tony stared into his honey colored eyes, and he knew.

“Mr. Stark,” Peter said, his lips drawn into a thin line, eyebrows creased with a sort of heaviness in his eyes. “How are you...you’re not supposed to be here,” He finally said, wiping a line of sweat off his forehead, then moved the same hand into his curly brown hair.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Tony responded, crossing his arms over his arc reactor. Peter shook his head helplessly, refusing to make eye contact. Tony was shocked at how much he’d changed...how much older he really looked. “What happened to you?” Again he only received a sad shake of his head in response. Tony wanted to reach out to him, but Peter moved before he could make a real decision. He flicked his wrists, changing the webbing for another cylinder container that popped out of his suit, and he sprayed the stuff all over the webs he’d shot. Steve stood quickly, looking confused at Peter, who was staring Natasha down, as Clint was helped up by Bruce.

“You’re...Spider-Man,” Steve decided, and Peter broke his gaze to look at him. Steve held out a hand, which Peter accepted after a moment of analyzing him.

“And you’re Steve Rogers,” he replied in the same tone, giving a small smile. “Sorry I attacked and all that, I honestly thought you guys were an illusion. I mean...wow, I mean you’re just so...young,” Peter shook it off, smiling a little to himself before Morgan stepped in.

“When are you from, anyway?” She surveyed the team, stepping a little closer to Peter. “I mean the year, you’re obviously not from our time,”

That seemed to have some sort of effect on them. “What time? You’re saying this is...what? This is the future?”

“2033,” Peter said, watching calmly as their eyes widened collectively. “Weird, huh? I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” He whispered the last part, and Morgan grabbed his shoulder. He tried to wave her off, but she pulled him to a seat anyways. They had a hushed conversation, the only indication that it was happening was the spastic hand gestures Peter made as he tried to explain something. Tony watched them carefully, and Bruce went to Thor’s side, checking him for any serious wounds.

“How could we have ended up in the future? Is time travel even possible…” Clint turned to Tony, drawing his attention away from Peter and Morgan’s conversation. “I must be dreaming. Dream Tony, how do I wake up?”

“You aren’t dreaming,” He replied, then slapped his cheek for good measure. “See?”

“Ya could’ve pinched me or something, painful man.” They stuck their tongues out at each other.

They all looked up when they heard a noise. Peter had stood, his chair making a loud scraping sound as he pushed it back. “Don’t mind me,” He said, embarrassed. “Carry on.” He started to slink away towards the stairs before anyone could tell him otherwise.

“Elevator!” Morgan scolded after him, but the door to the stairs shut before she could get any further with it. She crossed her arms on the table, placing her head on top of them with a sigh. Tony moved past Clint, who bristled for a moment.

“Morgan, right?” He sat in Peter’s previous seat, stretching his legs out across the floor.

“Yeah,” She said, her cheeks heating up as she subconsciously moved away from him. “You don’t...know me,” She chose her words carefully as if she were walking on broken glass.

He persisted. “Well...do you work here or something?” She shook her head, burying deeper into her arms. “Oh,” He turned, watching the Earth’s mightiest heroes awkwardly collect themselves. “How do you know Peter?” He tried instead, continuing to watch Natasha bicker with Clint.

“Uh...well, he’s like my brother,” Tony turned back to Morgan, watching her with more interest now. “I’ve known him since I was a kid. He’s...he’s always been there for me,” she smiled to herself, looking at the table in front of her fondly. “I dunno, he’s always taken care of me…”

“And I’m not stopping anytime soon,” Tony spun around, surprised, as Peter took a seat besides Morgan. 

He must’ve gone off to change, because his suit was gone, replaced with sweatpants and a science t-shirt that read: ‘Don’t trust atoms, they make up everything’. He had a silent conversation with Morgan, then smiled, moving to bring a first aid kit from one of the cupboards. As he settled back down, Morgan nudged him.

“Shirt off, now.” Another staring match.

“Alright,” He pulled it over his head, balling it up and placing it on the counter. “Give it to me straight doc...how long do I have?” He laughed to himself as Morgan swabbed a cotton ball with disinfectant. Tony saw the scars and bruises that lined his bare skin, a few bandages, and stitches still fresh on a few parts of his torso. Peter caught him looking, and drew his gaze so they were making eye contact. “Hi,”

“Hi,” Tony repeated, still a little surprised at how old Peter was. Peter tried to move so he was slouching or at least casually leaning, but Morgan shot him a look, preparing to stitch up his side.

“Did you forget your meds this morning,” She chided, and Peter blushed a little, squirming despite Morgan’s insistence.

“I mean, today is one of the days when I get to sleep in, but somebody woke me up before I could do anything,” He gave Tony a sheepish look, then froze in his seat as Morgan held up a needle. “I did, yes.”

“Sorry,” Tony managed, watching as Peter winced on contact.

“Hm?”

“That’s my fault, I hit you,” He clarified, and Peter blinked owlishly at him.

“I mean, we were fighting. No harm done—”

“Peter,” Morgan said, exasperated. “You can’t say ‘no harm done’ when you’re wounded.”

“Psh, yeah I can,” He looked to Tony again. “No harm done, I’m serious,” Before Tony could object, Peter was already standing, newly bandaged and all. He pulled his shirt on casually as he made his way towards the kitchen. Before he was completely out of sight, he paused, then turned. “Are you coming or what?” He grinned.


	3. Don't give Peter any coffee, seriously, someone restrain him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically they chill around for a while and learn a little bit about the new technology in the future!! Woah! And, yeah, Peter is trying his best and failing, when he gets interrupted. He just wants to leave but he can't because he has responsibilities (hah, funny)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this...happened. Yeah, I have a few ideas of where this is going, but of course I can't really share any of them. Honestly, I want to credit one of my favorite Peter Parker fanfictions, a lot of this is inspired by the works. Part of the "Inimitable" universe by deniigiq. Definitely check that out instead of reading this piece of trash. Anyways, keepin it real as always, comment if you want. Or nah. That's also fine. Byyyyeeee

They all sat around a table awkwardly, respective cups of coffee at different distances in front of them. Morgan was sitting with a few medicine bottles in front of her, as Peter stumbled in the kitchen behind her, cleaning a few dishes he’d made while brewing coffee. 

“Peter,” She said, at last, eyeing the Avengers as they continued their awkward silence. 

“Just another minute, I’m not done,” His voice replied, as he disappeared into the fridge. 

“Peter.” She repeated, this time with more force. He popped his head out, eyes wide and curls bouncing, like a child who’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He jumped over the counter quickly, pulling back a chair next to Morgan and Bruce, then he sat. 

“Sup,” he supplied, his eyes traveling to the prescription bottles next to him. He sent a betrayed look to Morgan and hissed. 

“Why!”

“You’re literally shaking right now,” Morgan deadpanned.

Peter clasped his vibrating hands, a shiver running through his spine. “No, I’m not,”

“Shut up,” She passed him three pills, to which he downed, sticking his tongue out after the act was done. 

“I hate,” He said, finally seeming to notice the attention he had on himself. He turned to Bruce first. “Hi, I’m Peter,” He held out a hand, to which Bruce accepted.

“I’m—”

“Oh, I know who you are.” Peter interrupted, continuing to shake his hand. “You’re Bruce Banner, aka,” Bruce winced, waiting for the obvious alternate persona to slip out of Peter’s mouth. But Peter continued. “One of the most renowned scientists of our generation! I’ve read all of your work on gamma radiation, and for my fifth-grade science fair, I did a report to stimulate your hypothesis, and—” Morgan elbowed him, and he let go of Bruce’s hand in surprise. “Oh, sorry!” 

“It’s no problem,” Bruce was practically glowing with excitement. “I didn’t know people actually knew me,”

“Are you kidding? Dr. Banner, sir, your photo was on the wall of my science classroom! You’re like, the coolest role model I’ve ever had!!” 

“Thank you!” They grinned at each other for a moment, and then Tony cleared his throat. 

“I hate to disturb this...beautiful moment between nerds, but I think we have more pressing issues to discuss,”  
Steve nodded, glad for the change in topic. “We want to know the possible ways how we, well, ended up in the future,”

“Ah,” Peter began to stand, moving to lean across the table. He tapped the center, opening a holographic screen. Tony wasn't the only one who jumped back, but he was certainly the most surprised. He didn't build that. 

At least, he doesn't remember building it. 

“Okay, so there’s an obvious rift that’s centered here at the tower.” He pushes his palms against the table in front of him, a keyboard appearing. He began typing, splaying a code across the hologram, which quickly took the information to create a diagram of the lounge area. After a moment of Peter’s continuous typing, a sort of heat vision color scheme popped up as well. “So,” Peter walked around the table in thought for a moment, then gestured towards the center of the screen, where a large amount of red and orange was shown. “Normal seismic waves, the ones that stabilize dimensions and all that, are shown in the blues and greens…” he made a closing gesture between his two hands, and the image shrunk, showing the street view of the tower, and the buildings surrounding. “Which is shown around the tower here, and here, and...you get my point.” He zoomed in again. “The majority of the tower is yellow, right? From the sky above it to the floors and everything. But there’s a particularly concerning amount of fluctuation in this area,” He swiped in mid-air, the screen following to show the common room again. “Which is why everything is red, okay?” 

Everyone nodded. “Wait, but what does that mean?” Clint sat forward, watching carefully as Peter considered his words. 

“Well…” He compressed the screen, then moved it towards the end of the table, opening another screen in the center. The keyboard popped up where he stood again, and Peter began mapping out some sort of diagram, equations pointing to certain curves in the weird circle sort of shape. “This is the space-time continuum,” He pointed at the circle, the entire thing made up of tiny pathways, lighting up constantly but in different orders. “You guys are from around…” He zoomed in again, scrolling along with the image for a moment. “Here,” He focused on a single strand, plucking it from the diagram by spreading the entire thing out through the air. “But something with an immense amount of power and destruction ebbed it’s way into your time and…” He flicked his wrist, and the screen moved quickly up the strand, focusing on a new point. “Sorta spat you out here,” He dropped his hands, and took a step back, the keyboard disappearing as the image sort of float. “Boom, time travel.” 

Tony worked his jaw, marveling at the brainpower this kid had. “You just...you just casually explained time travel...what?” 

“It’s only a theory,” Peter quickly butted in, drawing everyone’s attention away from the diagram to his awkward figure. “Not really mine, either," He mumbled, shaking his head quickly. "Of what happened. But I mean, hypothetically speaking, we could use this to build some sort of—”

“Time machine,” Morgan whispered, and Peter snapped a finger at her. 

“Some sort of time machine to get you guys back where you came from!” 

“A pretty damn good theory,” Tony added, watching as he blushed and lowered his head in embarrassment. 

“Well, anyway,” Peter pulled out his phone, biting his lower lip for a moment. “Morgan, can you handle this without me?”

Morgan looked up from her coffee, raising an eyebrow. “You’re...leaving?”Peter nodded. 

“I have a shift at CPNY, then I’ve got that whole TA thing—”

“TA? You’re a TA? Where?” Peter waved off Tony’s questions, checking his phone again. 

“So many questions, so little time,” He mused.

“I only asked one—”

“Morgan, you good?” He gave her a thumbs up. “Good! I’ll be back sometime, but I’d call Harley up or somethin’ to handle the whole timey twisty dealio, aight?” He gave her another, more insistent thumbs up, then turned to leave. Five steps towards the elevator, and he paused. His phone was ringing. 

“Are you gonna get that?” Clint asked after around two rings. Peter was frozen in his spot, and he slowly turned, approaching the table again. 

“I don’t think I will,” He said, at last, perching on the counter like the animal he was. 

Morgan sighed. “If you keep ignoring him, he’ll only come and find you,” Peter shook his head.

“I wouldn’t worry about that. Y’know Nick, he always knows where to find me!” 

“Wait wait wait,” Natasha sized up Peter again, having a staring contest with him. “Nick? As in Nick Fury?” 

“Yes,” Peter answered slowly, frowning slightly when his phone started buzzing again. He pulled it out, staring at the screen. “Maybe if I send him to voicemail he’ll piss off,” He ignored the stunned silence he received from the Avengers, making a face at Morgan. “Yay or nay?” 

“Peter, he’s gonna be so mad if you don’t answer!” Was her reply. He shrugged.

“He owes me a nice face to face interaction after that whole Paris thing,” He scowled further, looking towards the elevator. “Plus he’s already here, anyway.” Morgan startled, standing up at the news. 

“He’s here? Now?” Peter nodded. “How...I almost forgot you had super hearing,”

“Blessing and a curse,” He said smoothly, contemplating something as he looked back at the group. “Hey, can you guys do me a favor?”


	4. Peter knows how to piss off the most powerful of men (and he don’t give a shit)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That’s right, we’re bringing in the big guns, which include scary trench coat pirate and a lot of sassing. Just let Peter go home, Mr. Eye-Patch, please

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back at it again with that Peter Parker snark! Yeah, I spat out another chapter, look at these fingers fly with that 1 am spirit and zero fucks left to give attitude! But like, comment if you want bros, we good if ya don’t as well.

Tony almost regretted agreeing to hide behind the counter. 

At the time, his confusion was masked by Peter’s somehow still effective puppy dog eyes. Now, though, the only thing driving him to stay where he resided was his frustrating curiosity. 

Peter was leaning casually against the table, a smirk on his face when the elevator doors slid open. Fury was fuming when he stormed in, his trench coat billowing behind him. 

“Spider-Man,” He hissed, glaring at Peter as Morgan hid behind her hands.

“Scary Trench coat Pirate,” Peter said back, keeping his calm composure. 

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Fury growled, stalking up to Peter, who didn’t give him the satisfaction of flinching. 

“Whatever do you mean?” They stared each other down until Fury collected his anger.

“You know exactly what I mean. Don’t dodge the topic, I know why you’re here!” 

Peter sniffed indignantly. “Do you? For all you know, I’m here for a nice cup of coffee with Morgan,” He narrowed his eyes at Fury. Impressive, Tony noted. “How much do you know, anyway?”

“Don’t avoid the topic,”

“What topic? All we’ve talked about is ominous statements and playful nicknames. Oh, how I love our chats, eye-patch man!” 

Fury seethed quietly to himself, trying to smooth his frustration. “There is a strong anomaly resting inside this tower, and you can’t tell me you can’t feel it too.” He gestured to Peter’s arms, which indeed had hairs standing on edge. Peter bristled for a moment. 

“Maybe I’m just jumpy. Someone did just storm unexpectedly into this room,”

‘This kid is on fire!’ Clint mouthed to Tony, gaping at the interaction before them. 

“Don’t pretend you didn’t know I was coming,” Peter shrugged.

“Guilty…” His expression became more serious, and he grabbed Fury’s arm, murmuring something too quietly for anyone else to hear. 

Fury’s eyebrows shot up, and he glanced incredulously at Peter. 

“So I’d appreciate the hush-hush,” He finished, masking the dark aura previously shown with a cheerful smile. 

“Parker…” Fury’s lips twitched for a moment, his previous annoyance fading away, expression softening. “I...I commend you...especially after everything…” He clasped Peter’s forearm, the one that grabbed his arm, and placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder. They came to a silent agreement, and Fury’s eyes hardened again. 

“Guys, you can come out now. It’s surprise party time,” Peter called after a moment, grinning in the direction of their hiding spot. Tony exchanged a glance with Steve, and they all stood, stepping out from the kitchen. 

“Well,” Fury straightened his coat, sending a meaningful look to Peter. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised...silly me for expecting something normal this time around,” 

“Dude, I thought it couldn’t get any weirder like three weeks ago. I feel ya,” Peter grinned at them. “But I need to go now,” 

Fury grabbed him by the collar of his shirt as he tried to slink away. “Nu-uh, Spidey. Whatever crazy thing you have planned, cancel it.” 

“I can’t just cancel my life,” Peter argued, creasing his brow. “I need to pay the bills somehow!” 

“Consider this a paid extension of protocol seven...you do occasionally work for SHIELD anyways,” Peter rolled his eyes, shrugging off his grip, pulling out his phone. 

“SHIELD can kiss my ass for all I care,” he muttered to himself, sending a just as heated glare in return to Fury’s. “I’m canceling, I’m canceling, asshole,” He stepped around the corner, pulling the phone to his ear. 

Tony could faintly catch his conversation. “Hey Max, yeah it’s me...yeah I’m not going to make it. Do you even need to ask? Yeah, family emergency. Mhm, I know I don’t think it’ll last too long. Thanks, I’ll try. Have I told you how much I love you? Mhm, you’re the best! Yeah, see you next week…” Tony tuned back into the conversation before him. 

“You are by no circumstances to be seen by anyone. The time paradox has suffered enough. No superhero business, no leaving without disguise and surveillance,” Fury rubbed his temples. “Just when I thought I was done with this shit.” 

“Don’t repeat that,” Peter popped up behind Fury, giving a pointed look to Morgan. “That’s a bad word, don’t repeat it.”

“I’m 14,” She snipped at him, and they stuck their tongues out at each other. 

“Parker, you will be housing Stark, Banner, and Rogers for the time being,”

“What?” Peter snapped to attention, giving Fury a pout. “Why?” He whined. 

“Because they have some of the most recognizable features in this tower, it’s best to keep them far away in case of publicity.”

“It makes sense but I hate you,” Peter crosses his arms, staring at the ground.   
“Oh!” He perked up, looking towards the elevator with a glint in his eyes. “Harley’s here!” 

Tony spluttered for a moment. Harley? His Harley? Before he could say anything, the doors opened revealing a tall figure in a lab coat.

“What is up with the seismic waves up here?” The blond spotted Peter and his annoyed expression became a grin. “I should’ve known,”

“I did nothing!” Peter continued the banter, giving the team enough time to evaluate the new man. He must’ve been in his late twenties, soft stubble and blond curls his main defining features. He wore a black dress shirt, jeans, and sneakers under the coat, with a pair of safety goggles hanging from one of the pockets.

“Well, maybe then the washing machine wouldn’t have blown up!” Tony was thrown back into the conversation, tilting his head at the young adult. Harley glanced at him, then did a double-take. 

“Before you ask, it’s totally time travel. Five bucks,” Peter made a ‘gimme gimme’ motion with his hands, curling his fingers. 

“Tony Stark,” He breathed, shaking his head. “Oh boy, there is so much emotional trauma in this room,” 

“What--” Peter cleared his throat loudly, cutting Tony off as he glared at Harley. 

“Anyways!” Peter approached Harley, saying something in a low voice, then stepping back with a smile. “I need to hit something, c’mon!” He punched Harley’s arm playfully, then skipped out of the room. 

“God I hope he doesn’t mean me,” Harley gave them a critical look, then turned to follow. 

“I have...damn, I don’t have a school excuse, its summer,” Morgan blushed a little when they all turned to her. “We might as well go watch. I mean, anything with those two is bound to be entertaining...anything with Peter alone is fun.” She nodded to herself, then scurried away. The remaining bunch exchanged a look. 

“I have places to be,” Fury took his leave, eyeing them before he was out of sight. 

“Well…” Clint coughed a little. “Should we, ah…?” He gestured in the same direction Peter left. 

“I’d like to analyze his fighting style,” Nat responded, stalking out of the room, Clint following like a lost puppy. 

“Okay then!” Steve said, grasping Bruce and Tony by the arms. “Let’s go,”


	5. Cinnamon roll who can kill you but is nice enough not to

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets to show off his “moves”, and he learned them from his favorite Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. But he’s also big sad because Tony wants to know what’s been happening in the years he wasn’t around for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween everybody!!! I love the holiday so I decided to stop watching Danny Phantom for once and type this out...but now I’m going to go back to watching it. Hot damn, this show is getting to me. Anyways, comment below if ya wanna, but if nah we good, and I’m outie!

Tony was pretty sure he was hallucinating.

No way could Peter have learned to move in such a way in barely 20 years. Especially not if he came from the clumsy, awkward teen Tony knows and loves. 

Harley was leaning against one of the poles outside of the wrestling ring, watching as Peter jumped, planted his hands on a robotic training dummy’s shoulders to perform a handstand, followed immediately by him swinging his legs down, clasping the dummy’s head between his thighs--all in one swift motion. Peter quickly jerked backward, bending back on the floor, using his grip with his thighs to launch the dummy across the rink. It slid to the opposing pole, it’s head sparking and dented. Peter rolled to his front, landing in a crouch, a few beads of sweat hitting the mat. 

All of the Avengers jaws were hanging open, including Nat, who quickly closed it while approaching the rink.

“Nice moves,” She said smoothly, sitting on the outside of the rink, which was centered in the gym. 

“Thanks!” He grinned at her, to which her lips twitched upward. Harley whistled in appreciation, clapping a few times.

“Thunder thighs does it again!” He cheered, making Peter blush, smiling bashfully. 

“My thighs are not that big!” He snarked, glaring Harley down. 

“Nice glare,” Clint commented, hopping up on the same pole the dummy crashed in front of. Peter glanced slightly at Natasha.

“Thank you. I learned from the best.” Clint watched him for another moment, his face unreadable before he turned to Morgan.

“You know how to shoot?” Morgan looked startled at being called out, but she nodded, allowing herself to follow Clint as he hopped off the rink. 

Peter also slid underneath the cords, accepting a towel from Harley, who stepped into the rink himself, a new dummy appearing. Peter sat next to Tony, rubbing his face as he grabbed a water bottle.

“Kid, that was amazing!” Tony blurted, watching as Steve nodded in agreement. “Who taught you to fight like that?” 

Peter paused, mid-swing in his drink. “Ah hah,” He laughed a little, wiping his mouth. “The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen,” He winked at Tony’s confused look, smiling to himself. Tony tried to shake himself out of his shock, letting Cap continue the conversation. 

“So, what have you been up to...in the future,” He winced a little at himself, barely knowing Peter to begin with. Peter ignored it, though, pondering the question. 

“I recently got my major in Biology. It was a long process, I’ve gotta say, but I guess it’s worth it. If Miles hadn’t convinced me--” He cut himself off, blushing. “Well, anyway, I’m done with school,”

Tony blinked, realizing how old Peter actually was. “Where?” 

“Cornell,” He stared at the wall for a bit, answering as almost a reflex. “I doubled my masters with Material Science, transferred from MIT after three years--they were glad to be rid of my big brain, or so my professors told me,” His expression was almost wistful. “Tuition is a pain, especially with everything else I gotta pay for now, but it was worth it. I’m actually supposed to do a lecture in a few days,” 

Tony nodded. “How's your Aunt handling all that money?” Peter froze, finally moving his stare from the wall, meeting Tony’s eyes instead. His expression fell into a stony facade, his eyes a storm. 

“Oh, she, uh, handled…” He swallowed thickly. Tony found himself shifting uncomfortably. 

“She’s alright?” Tony’s stomach dropped when Peter shook his head, looking more like a kid than he had the entire day.

“May…” He licked his lips nervously. “May got sick, like really sick during my senior year of high school. It was lung cancer….she uh, she passed away just after my graduation,” He was quiet for a moment as they processed it all.

“Jeez kid, I had no idea. I’m sorry--”

“It’s fine,” He smiled a little shakily, clearing his throat. “I took a year off to pay the hospital bills, and they did everything they could for her...what’s done is done,” He shook his head, grinning to cover up the moment. “Anything else you’d like to interrogate me about?” Tony shook his head mutely, and Steve lowered his head. 

The moment was thankfully interrupted by Peter’s phone, to which he took from the bench. 

He sighed with a grin as he brought the phone to his ear. “Hello?” A pause, to which Tony and Steve exchanged a look. “This is he, yes...oh, did he now?” Peter rolled his eyes at Tony, like ‘can you believe this’. Tony just watched in amusement. “No no, that’s fine. I’ll be there,” He pulled the phone away, looking at the screen for a moment. “I have to go pick someone up,” He stood quickly, Tony moving to follow. 

“I’ll join you!” Peter gave him a face, then turned to watch Harley.

“I’M LEAVING!” He announced, and Harley looked over, being distracted long enough to get socked across the jaw.

“JACKASS!” He responded, and Peter nodded in satisfaction. He surveyed the room for a moment, then turned back to Tony. 

“I might as well take all of you, I have to go back to my house anyway,” 

Tony looked at Cap, then back to Peter. “Your house?” 

Peter continued as if he said nothing, waving Bruce over from where he was watching the archery. They began walking out of the gym, heading towards a private elevator. Peter stopped at a lab for something before rejoining them. The elevator opened, and they all stepped in, Peter pressing a button for the garage.

“Here,” He handed them watches. Tony examined it, then stuck it on, mechanical whirring coming from it as it adjusted to his wrist. The three of them gave Peter a perplexed face, and he returned it with a ‘bitch, please’. “You guys will be recognized, even now. This is facial recognition tech, it changes your appearance,” Peter pointed at the metal walls of the elevator, proving his point by the reflections.

Tony’s facial hair was gone, and he looked as if he gained a few pounds, with his eyes a different color, and his hair balding. He reached up to feel his mustache, watching as his reflection touched a bare upper lip.

“Huh,” Bruce said, feeling his own face. 

“Why do we look the same to each other?” 

“Programming,” Peter said as if it was obvious. “It would get too confusing if the team didn’t recognize each other, the only people who don’t recognize you, who see those reflections, are those not coded in the software,” Peter pulled out a baseball cap from his pocket, placing it over his messy curls. “Don’t freak out,” He said, looking back at them with a small smile. “But I might be a little famous myself,”

“What does that mean!” Tony didn’t get an answer, for the elevator doors dinged at that exact moment. 

He grumbled to himself as they walked to a sleek but comfortable car, painted blue. They stood admiring it for a moment as Peter found his keys, sliding into the front seat. After a moment of them just standing there, Peter rolled the window down. 

“Come on then,” He grinned at them, putting sunglasses on. “We don’t have all day!”


	6. Road Trip!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Peter drives to pick up Miles from school, the three avengers who tagged along learn a little bit more about Peter’s life...well, to some extent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a thing! And by a thing I mean a new chapter! I’m basically procrastinating work and interacting with people...and sleep, but I did it! It’s done, and I finally made it so we gots a baby spider (cough, Miles, cough). Comment if you guys wanna, I’ll just be here in the dark, do as you please.

Peter’s car smelled like cinnamon, and it was comfortably warm, even in the summer humidity. Peter hummed along to the music playing from his phone, drumming his fingers along the steering wheel. Tony wondered when he got his license as he weaved expertly through the streets of New York. 

“Where are we going?” Bruce finally asked from the very back of the car, continuing to look out the window. 

“It’s a surprise,” Peter answered, and they went back to a comfortable silence. Tony did a double-take at the next billboard he saw, his eyes widening.

“Huh,” He said, seeing the photography shot of Spider-Man shooting a web. “Lookin good, Pete,” He joked, then saw the corner. It was a picture of Peter, out of suit Peter, claiming he was the one to take the picture. 

“You take...selfies for money?” Steve asked, trying to keep the smile out of his voice. Peter laughed anyways. 

“I take photos for the Daily Bugle, which helps with money. There was this whole identity thing a while ago where, whoopsies, my cover was blown! But we worked it out,” He drummed his fingers along the steering wheel for a moment. “After that, to get out of me suing them for all the money they had, we came to a compromise, or it started with an unwilling internship thing...but luck kinda came my way. JJ Jameson likes my shots of Spider-Man, he says they’re ‘unlike anyone else's’. Jokes on him, he pays the person he hates the most,” Tony choked, Peter smoothly and quickly sliding over the topic of his identity being leaked. Peter gave him an amused look out of the corner of his eye.

“He hates you?” He said instead. Honestly, Tony couldn’t fathom anyone hating Peter, he was far too likable. 

“Well, not me me, but Spider-Man. It’s just he...well, look,” He rolled down the windows, gesturing towards one of the screens.

It showed a middle-aged man with dark hair with white streaks and a handlebar mustache glaring at the camera.

“Spider-Man is a menace to society!” A clip popped up on the screen, showing Peter stop a robbery. The man droned on and on about how Spider-Man caused every problem in the world and he needed to be arrested yadda yadda yadda. 

Tony watched with growing fascination as Peter smiled lightly at the screen. 

“I haaate Spider-Man!” The guys gravely voice screeched. 

“Love you too, Jamey,” Peter began to put the windows up again, laughing a little as he turned onto the highway. 

“No one actually believes that crap, do they?” Steve watched as Peter shrugged.

“I mean, some people do. It’s kinda funny, I can save a kid from being run over, and then be pummeled with rotten fruit because that kid didn’t ask to be saved. Straight out of the Incredibles. The kid is grateful, and the parents, but wooph,” He shook his head, still smiling. “Boy do I love this city,” 

They all laughed at that, letting the moment stay with them as Peter turned into a parking lot. 

Tony squinted his eyes out the window and realized they were in front of Midtown Tech, Peter’s old high school. 

“It’s their last day of school,” Peter commented as he backed into a parking space, taking the keys out. “I’ll be back,” 

“Wait, I’ll come in, too,” Tony urged, climbing out of the car to follow Peter, who stood, watching him, from outside the front seat. 

“It’s not that interesting, I can assure you.” Peter waited, but Tony didn’t budge. He wanted to know more about Peter, and this seemed to be the only way. 

Peter shrugged, at last, and began to walk towards the school. Tony jogged a little to catch up with his tall strides, falling into step next to him. 

“Do you know someone that works here?” Tony tried to break the silence. Peter thought for a moment, then shrugged.

“I suppose, they might still have a few teachers from when I was here. I know the secretary, she’s nice,” He glanced at Tony, smiling a little. “That’s not why we’re here if that’s what you’re wondering,”

“I’m a curious man,” Tony responded, keeping his mouth in a thin line, staring straight ahead of him. 

“I know,” Peter laughed a little, the sound deeper than Tony was used to. He smiled nonetheless, his happiness was contagious, after all. Peter strolled past the football field, climbing the steps with practiced ease, something he must’ve picked up from going here. He led Tony through the front doors, stopping at the front desk for a moment. 

“Hi,” he greeted the old woman who was typing on the computer. She fixed her state on Peter, immediately brightening up at his face. 

“Parker!” She stood, probably to hug him, then realized there was a counter between them. Peter stood on his tippy-toes, hugging her anyways. “Sweetheart, what do I owe the pleasure!” 

“Oh, I’m here for Miles. I know it’s a half-day anyway, but I thought I could sneak him out before the hallways got too busy,” They shared a knowing look, and the woman smiled. 

“Of course, he’s just outside the Principal's office. That boy is such a troublemaker,” She winked at Peter. “I’d never guess who he gets it from,” 

“Mrs. Fitzgerald, what do you take me for?” Peter held up his hands in mock surrender, grinning from ear to ear. “I am a civilized and well-behaved adult,” The secretary scoffed jokingly, and Peter laughed. “On the outside.” Tony found himself smiling too, watching the exchange a few steps behind them. 

“Who’s your friend?” Mrs. Fitzgerald seemed to take note of Tony for the first time, eyeing him suspiciously. 

“Oh, this is a coworker of mine. We had some things to discuss that couldn’t wait until I got back to the office,” Peter made an exaggerated eye roll, to which the woman chuckled softly. “Mrs. Fitzgerald, this is...Mr. Holland, and likewise,” Tony walked forward and shook the older woman’s hand. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” He smiled, and she pinched her eyebrows at him.

“And you,” They stared each other down, the woman obviously wary of him. Tony found the protectiveness strange, misplaced out of context. He really needed to learn more about Peter, and his effect on the people around him. 

Peter coughed, jerking his head towards the left.

“We should go, though I’d love to stay and chat,” He gave Tony a look that said he’d rather not stay in this awkward moment. Tony couldn’t agree more. “Let’s go, Mr. H,” He waves goodbye to the woman, and they headed down the hall.

“Sheesh, I thought she was going to bite my head off.” Peter wheezed a laugh, holding his side as he did so. 

“Same, I think she was worried you’re some FBI agent or something. Paranoia grows with age, I suppose,” He stopped in front of a glass door, opening it with a hand. 

They stepped into a waiting area of sorts, a row of chairs and a few potted plants on each wall except the one directly in front of them, which held a single wooden door. 

The principal's office, Tony mused to himself. 

Peter whistled to get someone’s attention, and Tony looked over, spotting another person in the room. 

“Miles, time to ditch,”


	7. Peter’s a good (?) Dad, where he got it from no one knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter picks up Miles from school and they have a heart to heart about punching people. Tony is confused but rolls with it and they venture back into the city, only to be stopped—saving the day can get tiring if you have to drop everything to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried my best. I love the duo of Miles and Peter, and I’m pretty sure it’s MJ on the phone with him—maybe not, who knows? (I do). Anyways, comment if y’all want, or nah, and the other formalities or whatever. Okay, adios!!

Peter grinned at the kid, who couldn’t be older than 13. He was dark-skinned and lean, with black curls bouncing as he stood. He wore a red hoodie and skinny jeans, his hands tucked deep into his pockets. 

The kid’s chocolate eyes were cast downwards, his shoulders hunched as he made his way towards Peter. He’d obviously done something wrong, to be here in the first place. 

Tony watched curiously as Peter clasped his shoulder gently, forcing the kid to look up. “Hey, you alright?” 

“Oh, I was just,” He swallowed, looking into Peter’s eyes, which held no anger of any sort. “I’m sorry,” 

Peter gave him a gentle smile. “It’s alright, you didn’t do anything wrong. I know you hate bullies as much as I do. Heck, I wish I had the guts to punch more of them when I was in high school,” The kids face lit up, smiling to what Peter was saying. “Of course, the school system argues that fighting isn’t the best method, but you know how much I like to hit my problems away,”

“You do,” the kid, Miles, laughed. “A lot,”

“Oh shush,” Peter was laughing too, slinging an arm over Miles’ shoulders. “You’re a good kid, I know you are. And you have a good heart,” Peter poked his chest, causing Miles to roll his eyes. “Which is more than some people have,”

They shared a look. “But maybe, just maybe, next time you could use your words a little more before you bring out the big guns, Kay?” 

Miles turned to hug Peter, who gladly embraced the smaller boy. “Thanks, Peter, you’re the best!”

“So I’ve been told,” Peter laughed, holding Miles out at arm's length. “Now let’s go, you have your bag?” Miles nodded. “Good, I hate school,” They grinned at each other for a moment longer, then Miles spotted him. 

“Who’s that?” He narrowed his eyes in Tony’s direction, looking between him and Peter. Peter laughed a little, gesturing for them to follow him as he made his way down the hall again.

“There are a lot of things I need to catch you up on,” He held the door open for them, giving one last wave goodbye to Mrs. Fitzgerald. Miles refused to take his eyes away from Tony’s face as they made it to the car, his eyebrows furrowed. 

He only looked away when they reached the parking lot.

“Shotgun!” He screamed, racing to the door before Tony could react. 

“What?” He faced Peter, who shrugged, looking unapologetic. 

“He called it first,” Peter opened the door to the backseat and moved a computer, files, and a whole lot of papers.

Tony got in as Peter made it to the other side of the door, pausing as his phone rang. They all sat in awkward silence as Peter stood outside, muffled conversation coming from where he stood. Tony and Steve exchanged a look before Bruce decided to be an actual person and started a conversation. 

“Hi,” He greeted from two rows back, and Miles whipped around to look at him. Bruce waved awkwardly. 

“Hey, I’m Miles,” He held up a hand in greeting. Steve let out a breath of relief and then blushed at the strange looks he got.

“Sorry, when Peter mentioned you earlier I thought he was talking about his dog or something, and I was worried that he relied on his dogs for opinions,” Miles snorted, and Peter opened his door, slipping in quickly.

“A dog would’ve been easier to deal with,” Peter and Miles stuck their tongues out at each other, and then shoved each other’s shoulders playfully.

A muffled voice came from his phone, and Peter brought it back to his ear. “Oh, yeah, but I only got shot twice. Nah...No, but get this. After the table was smashed and like five bodies were all over the place—who the fuck do you think I am? Of course, that’s why the table was broken—and I turned to her and...no, yeah she did say that, and I’m here like ‘bitch, you KNOW I do yoga’!” 

He mouthed something at Miles, who rolled his eyes. “No, last time I was concussed I strayed to talk about crackers. Maybe I am sexually frustrated, who knows...” Peter smiled sheepishly at the confused party in the backseat, and he started the car. 

He pressed a few buttons on the dash, and an upbeat tune came from the speakers, which Miles immediately started humming along to. Tony smiled a little to himself, whoever this kid was, Peter was definitely a good father figure. 

Peter cocked his head at something the person said. “Baby, anything for you…” He laughed to himself at the reply. “I was? Which channel...oh hell yes. No, I’m escorting frick and frack to the fortress—have you seen that video? No, Ned sent it to me, I cackled,” 

Tony felt more intrigued, so Peter was still in touch with Ned. A warm feeling spread across his chest, that their friendship was still in place—God knows Peter needs something solid in his life. 

Peter was smiling to himself as he listened to the person on the other side. “Mhm, yes I love you too...alright, I can’t make any promises but I’ll try my best. Yeah,” He pulled the phone away, looking at the screen for a moment. Then he grinned back at everyone. “Is everyone buckled in all safe? Yeah? Okay! Next stop, Parker central!” 

Peter got a few more phone calls in the car as they rode back to the city, making their way towards, unsurprisingly, Queens. Tony has just busied himself in spotting every taxi on the street when the car slowed. 

“Oh boy,” Peter muttered, leaning forward to look at something through the windshield. Miles added a noise of agreement, and Peter pulled over. 

“What are you—”

“I’ll be back,” Peter unbuckled himself, reaching for his web-shooters seated in the cup holder next to him. Before he could open the door, he turned and gave a stern look to everyone in the car. “Don’t get out, I've got this handled,” He shook a finger at Miles for emphasis, then dashed out of the car. 

Tony watched as he disappeared down the street, into an alleyway. People started rushing past the car in the opposite direction Peter went, screaming and bolting to take cover. A moment later and Tony knew why. 

It looked like a guy in a rhino suit, standing at least seven feet tall with bulky grey armor and a horn on top of the wackos head. Miles had gripped his seat belt until his knuckles were white, and was staring at the figure as it lumbered down the street. 

Tony decided to screw whatever Peter told him, and unbuckled himself, Steve doing the same thing. 

“Wait!” Miles whisper-shouted, grabbing Tony by the arm. “We aren’t supposed to fight the Rhino, Peter told us to stay in the car!!” 

Tony scoffed. “I tell Peter what to do, not the other way around. He can’t ground me,” Miles gave him an exasperated look, but Tony shook him off nonetheless. “I’m going,” 

Miles made a strangled sound of distress as Tony and Steve sprinted out of the car and down the road.


	8. I eat bricks for breakfast, Mr. Rhino Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see Peter being a badass. An absolute queen. Stunning. Fabulous, precious, 11/10, would hug. Yeah, but he also gets hurt kinda bad but he’s totally ready to fuck shit up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, how ya doing, well I’m doing just swell, oh well, I’m going to hell. So I remembered that scene from one of the animated Spider-Man shows (Spectacular Spider-Man? I don’t remember), and the cone scene always makes me laugh my ass off, so...  
Comment if you want, I’m dying inside, have fun!!

They leaned around the alleyway they’d ducked in for cover, peering out at the Rhino-themed antagonist. As he prowled closer, Tony kinda wished they’d come up with an actual plan, instead of just following the enraged psycho. 

Cap was kneeling, ready to spring into action when Tony grabbed his arm. 

“Hey, we aren’t supposed to be seen,” He said, trying his best to ignore the annoyance that built in his chest when Steve glared back at him. 

He shook Tony’s arm off of his. “Are you really willing to risk the lives of these innocent people for some stupid identity blown?” 

Tony bit his tongue, forcing his voice to come out smoothly. “Well some stupid identity may be the only thing keeping the time stream from collapsing,” 

Tony curled his lips back in distaste, and Steve closed his eyes for a moment. He was about to snark something back when they were interrupted. It wasn’t anything big, just a thwip sound, followed by a plop. 

Tony, despite the tense atmosphere, hid a snicker behind a fist. 

“What the—” Rhino bellowed, crossing his eyes to try and see the traffic cone on top of his horn. 

“Hey,” Another thwip, and a flash of red and blue. 

“SPIDER-MAN!” The cowering people cheered, being ushered back inside a moment later. And sure enough, there Peter was, hanging upside down on a lamppost, cocking his head at the super villain.

“I got the thing, on the thing!” He pointed excitedly at the traffic cone and the horn, watching as the Rhino’s nostrils flared. “What do I win?” Steve gave Tony a look, and he shrugged, turning back to the scene. 

“You!” The Rhino roared, preparing to lunge. 

“I win me?” Peter shook his head in disbelief, making his voice incredibly bubbly. “That makes no sense!” 

He flipped off, just as the Rhino rammed into the spot he’d just been, and landed in a crouch. “Big guy, I have a joke for ya!” The guy turned, snarling at Spidey. 

“What?” He asked, kinda dumbly in Tony’s opinion. Peter webbed a mailbox from behind his back, leaning forward and widening the lenses of his mask at the villain. 

“What kinda mail is always fast delivery but never costs extra?” The Rhino stayed still for a moment, thinking about the question. 

In his moment of stillness, Peter yanked the mailbox forward, swinging around and launching it straight into the guy’s head. He went flying at the sheer force behind the blow, skidding to a stop down the road, dust flying up around him. 

“JUSTICE!” Peter shouted, jumping up and sticking by his fingers to a building. “Get it? Justice? Cuz you’re a bad guy and you just got mail,” He shook his head, leaping off and throwing another web, swinging to another lamppost. 

“Stupid bug!” The Rhino staggered back to his feet, glaring up at Spidey. 

“Bug? Oh I’m hurt,” Rhino took a swing at Peter, which he ducked under, then he flipped over another fist. “Guess they don’t teach humor too much in prison, do they?” He laughed, catching one of Rhino’s fists, then he threw it back, coming back quickly for another punch to his face. 

Tony silently cheered him on, watching as he dodged and returned blows, his size and agility an advantage over the Rhino’s bulky armored suit. Peter has backed him back to an intersection and was jumping up to web him down when a hand shot out and grabbed his leg. 

“Oh boy, I didn’t know legs were your thing, this is a little awkward,” Spidey struggled to kick out with his other leg, but he was trapped. Tony held his breath, watching as he laughed forcefully. “You’re a nice guy, but definitely not my type. It’s not you, it’s me—”

“Shut up!” The Rhino bellowed, swinging Peter back and forth. “Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!” He swung Peter down, smashing him into the pavement, then he repeated the process twice more. 

Tony stuck a fist in his mouth, praying that Peter was just faking his limp body. He was thrown into the air, crashing into a building, the brick wall toppling on him. Tony went running towards him, but Steve caught his arm, pulling him back. 

Tony was about to snap at him, but the look in his eyes were enough to make him pause. 

“Wait,” He watched carefully as the bricks began to shift. “Peters strong, he’s not done yet,” 

“C’mon kid,” Tony muttered, the bricks shifting a little more, just enough that the Rhino started approaching them. “Get up,” The Rhino leaned down to inspect the rubble, and a moment of silence spread across the street. 

Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for Spider-Man. 

Then, with a few startled gasps, Peter shot out from the pile, bricks exploding outwards towards the Rhino. He howled in pain as it rained debris, and Peter stumbled on his feet, shooting a web to a nearby building. Gaining momentum as he pulled himself into the air, he swung behind the distracted villain and smacked him on the back. A small shockwave appeared where he hit, the force blowing both of them away. 

Peter skidded on his side down the street, and the Rhino crashed forward, creating cracks along the concrete, the back of his suit ripped—exposing his bare skin. 

Civilians rushed out of the buildings, cheering for Spidey, who was struggling to pick himself up. He waved to the crowd, webbing up the Rhino as he made it to his knees. 

“I’ll be here all week!” People got their phones out and started filming him, and Peter stumbled forward, webbing himself into the air and around the corner. 

Tony watched as the people cheered after him, taking selfies with the unconscious Rhino in the back as the police arrived on the scene. 

“I told you to stay in the car,” Both Tony and Steve whipped around, finding Peter leaning casually against the brick wall opposite to them, back in sweatpants and a t-shirt. New bruises were forming along his cheeks and the skin exposed on his arms. A trail of dried blood came from the corner of his mouth and his nose, smeared a little as he obviously tried to rub it away. 

He was watching Tony with a neutral expression, displaying that he wasn’t mad, and probably expected this. 

“Damn kid, you’ve got moves,” Tony said, at last, watching as Peter’s hand instinctively went to his rib cage. 

“Yeah, thanks. Now get back into the car,” Steve raised a hand in surrender, then attempted to take a step towards Peter. 

“You got pretty banged up back there. Do you need--” 

Peter silenced him with a glare, so much more heated than he could’ve managed as a 15-year-old. “You have about five seconds to get back into the car before I drag you there,” Tony and Steve gulped in unison, averting their gaze from his. 

“Don’t test me, because I can, and I will,” 

He was a step behind them as they made their walk of shame back to the car. Once they were all seated, Peter turned to Miles, who shrunk under his gaze. 

“Thank you for staying out of this one,” He said, causing everyone in the car to relax at the soft tone. “And I appreciate the concern to those who left,” He shot a grin at Tony in the backseat, wincing as it stretched a bruise on his cheek. “But I handled it...and you guys need to get used to other people handling the issues around here,” 

Miles laughed, covering it with a cough. “Sorry, it’s just--if you aren’t from here, you’ve yet to meet the Web Warriors,” Peter and him shared a grin, to which Peter rubbed his ribs at his own chuckle. 

“Or Team Red,” 

“Oh, I think keeping Team Red out of the equation is the best option right now. I haven’t met up with them since I got back, and oh boy,” Peter dug around the cup holders for a while, finally bringing out some sort of ‘wet wipe’ that he began to clean his face with. 

“What,” Miles teased. “Afraid to show off your thunder thighs?” 

“Oh, I know you didn’t just say that. Have you been hanging out with Harley?” Miles curled his lips in fake distaste, and they started a joking fight of shoulder punches. 

Bruce cleared his throat from the very back of the car, and both of them turned, smiling goofily.

“Sorry,” Miles laughed at Peter, who rushed to start the car. “Wait, we have to make sure you don’t have a concussion, first!”


	9. The lair of the Beast...is actually pretty comfortable, what do you pay for rent?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to see Peter's apartment (because he's a semi-capable adult), and it's actually pretty cozy. We also get to know a little more about his time in the future by the pictures on his wall. He probably needs a hug, someone help him, please.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a long time to deliberate what the fuck I was doing, especially with this chapter, but I did something! So huzzah! I kept in mind the whole thing about watching what someone photographs because that's what they're afraid to lose the most. We also get introduced to the double D squad, and I threw in Frank Castle briefly (he's the dude with the buzzcut). Also Harry Osborn, from the graduation photo, and the blond is a love interest (?????HELP ME?????). aNYWAYS, hope this is decent enough for this week. I'm gunna just teleport away now to my land of blankets and mashed potatoes. Oh, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

They pulled up to a middle-class apartment building in Queens, Miles hopping out as soon as Peter parked. He sighed, unbuckling, then stepped out of the car himself. The trio left in the car rushed to follow as Peter crossed the front of the car to be on the sidewalk.

He held the door open for Steve and helped put the seat down so Bruce could climb out, apologizing for the tight fit. After he grabbed a bag from under a seat, wincing as he bent down, he locked the car and led them into the building. It was refreshingly air-conditioned, with only a few people moving in and out of the doors.

Peter flipped the person at the desk off, the gesture being returned, then moved towards the stairs without explanation. Tony and Steve exchanged a look, but Bruce pushed past both of them, speed walking to stay in step with Peter. They stopped after about four flights of stairs, Tony and Bruce huffing as Peter continued through the door, into a hallway, holding his ribs the entire time he walked. Tony spotted Miles leaning beside a door marked ‘406’, nodding his head along to a beat in his headphones, which appeared out of nowhere.

Peter held the door open for the trio, looking a little nervous as he got his keys out.

“So I wasn’t expecting company,” Miles snorted. “Shut up, you, this was sprung on me!” Peter cleared his throat, laughing. “So...I apologize,” He unlocked the door, stepping out of the way so Miles could slip inside, dropping his bag and then taking his shoes off. Peter began to follow, but then stopped, sniffing the air. “Ned, I swear if you aTE MY POP TARTS!” He disappeared into the apartment, the sound of his footsteps getting more muffled as he got further away.

The trio left in the hall exchanged amused glances, then entered the apartment after Peter.

The first thing Tony noticed was the smell. The scent of chocolate chip cookies wafted through his nose, leaving his senses feeling all warm and cozy. It suited Peter, Tony decided, glancing around the room.

There was a bar hanging a quarter of the way into the room, separating the kitchen from the rest of the space. Three stools were lined on the side visible to Tony, a messenger bag lying across one of them with a software circuit of some kind in the middle of being taken apart on the table. Screwdrivers and various wires were spread out across the surface, with a stack of papers taking over the corner of it. Miles had disappeared into the kitchen, his head in one cupboard or another.

In the middle of the kitchen was a small table, able to seat four or five people, six if you tried hard enough. Four chairs were pulled up to it currently, another sitting next to the fridge, probably so they could reach the top shelves above it. On the back of one of the chairs was what seemed to be a pile of coats, with at least four slumped over it.

Moving away from the kitchen, the living room of sorts was a comfortable space, a fluffy rug covering most of the ground. Next to the door was a shoe mat, various mismatched sneakers and boots barely contained in the small square. The wall next to the door seemed to be some sort of chalkboard, a bucket with what seemed to be chalk or pencils lying next to the shoes.

There was a small list in the top left corner, written in Peter’s messy scrawl he called penmanship, listing eggs, bread, and milk. The rest of the board seemed to be free reign. At the moment, there was an abstract looking piece of the city, the buildings made up of numerous colors all faded together, with a figure swinging from one of the buildings. Tony recognized the suit by now, smiling lightly at the mini Spidey flying across the drawing, making a peace sign at the opposite wall.

The wall next to it had a little nook in it, tall windows being cut off halfway down with a few cushioned benches, displaying the streets and buildings in front.

The wall beside the windows was covered in frames, pictures and degrees proudly hung around. Tony walked closer, inspecting a few of the photos.

One of them was Peter, a little younger than he was now, with his arms around the shoulders of a tall blonde with bright blue eyes and a slightly older looking Ned. All of them were dressed in graduation robes, their hats nowhere in sight. Peter was grinning at the camera, his eyes glittering in the sunlight.

Below it was one with a group of five, again of graduation day. Peter had retrieved his hat and was sideways hugging a grinning MJ, who looked to be vigorously giving the blonde from the previous photo a noogie. Ned was making finger guns behind Peter, sticking his tongue out at another guy with dark hair and green eyes, who returned the gesture.

The next photo was of Peter hugging a slightly taller man with red-tinted glasses and stubble, wearing a black suit with a rolled-up cane in one hand, the other holding Peter’s back. He was grinning at the camera, his nose crinkled with the action, a shorter blond man with long hair standing a few feet away, slightly out of frame as he laughed with his hands on his knees. They were standing in front of a building, a sign at the top of the frame labeling the door as “Nelson & Murdock”.

The photo above it was of the same people, with the addition of a blonde woman with her arm around the other blond, Peter being chased off the frame by the other man, his face frozen in what appeared to be a fake scream of terror.

Continuing down the line of photos, there were a few smaller ones of Peter with his Aunt, one of Peter as a little kid with an unknown man grinning at the camera. He was holding Peter in his lap as Peter held a book in his, his mouth open as he probably read aloud to the older man. Tony couldn’t help but grin at the big glasses perched on Peter’s nose, making him look even more of a nerd.

There were a few more with younger Peter with Ned and a lot more of him with the blue-eyed blonde. They were dancing in formal clothes in one, Peter being dipped low as it was taken mid-swing.

Another showed Peter, maybe the same age as he was now, proudly sporting a pride flag across his shoulders, pink-tinted sunglasses perched on his messy curls, Miles standing next to him wearing rainbow face-paint. Both of them were posed back to back, arms crossed as they tried to look serious.

The image was broken, though, as Peter was trying not to laugh, the corners of his mouth wobbling as Miles pouted.

Tony ended up on the other side of the window, finding a picture of Peter, teenage Peter, saluting a gruff looking man with a buzz cut, the man mid-eye roll.

Next to it was one of Peter hugging Morgan from behind, her face pulled into a surprised laugh as he lifted her off the ground. A few more of Miles, Ned, and the blond, until Tony finally settled on the last photo.

It was another one of teen Peter, the one Tony knew. He tilted his head as he inspected it, seeing himself staring back at him. Peter was giving him bunny ears, and Tony was doing the same as they grinned at the camera, Tony having a more neutral expression. They were each holding a side of a Stark Industries Internship form, Tony pointing slightly at the document.

His observation was interrupted when Peter whistled from the kitchen, propped up on one of the stools. Tony turned, taking note of the tv hung up on the remaining wall, a coffee table a few feet away from it, in front of a long blue couch with an armchair to the left of it.

On the coffee table was another stack of papers, some of them in envelopes, and what looked to be a Spider-Man suit, the mask on one of the couch cushions. Next to the suit was a camera, a few different lenses lying next to it with a few shots of Spider-Man stacked in a folder.

Tony warily walked past the exposed suit, passing a hallway that led to what he assumed were the bedrooms and approached Peter.

“Oh, sorry, I was just calling for Chewy,” Tony paused in his steps, looking down the hallway when he heard the soft jingle of a collar. Out of one of the rooms appeared a dog, medium-sized and panting. Tony stepped out of the way as it trotted it’s way up to Peter, wagging its tail excitedly.

“So you do have a dog,” Steve said, moving from his place by the couch to bend down, scratching said dog behind the ears. “What a good boy,” He said gently, the dog licking his hands.

“His name is Chewy. He’s like 50% golden retriever, and 50% ham sandwich,” Miles snorted from the fridge, a juice box in hand as he sat on the counter next to Peter. The dog had a light honey color, his hair all fluffed up with curls. It almost matched Peter’s hair, Tony noticed, stifling a snicker behind his fist.

“Don’t you mean Sir Chewbacca the third?” Peter blushed, lifting the dog into his arms as he rubbed his stomach.

“We call him Chewy for short,” Peter added, sending a look to Miles. He made kissy faces at the dog, who wiggled in excitement, and Peter had to place him on the floor before he fell.

Bending down once again, Peter winced, letting out a slow breath as he sat back up.

“It’s your ribs, isn’t it?” Bruce said lightly from his seat on one of the stools near the end of the counter. Peter looked taken aback for a moment, before nodding.

“Yeah, I think it was the angle I hit the bricks...or the bricks in general. Thus is life,” He tried to keep his serious expression while Miles laughed, shoving his shoulder lightly. Bruce smiled slightly as well, moving from his seat, gesturing at Peter.

“Up,” He made the gesture again. “Shirt off, I’ll see what I can do,”

“Uh, Dr. Banner, sir, I have a really fast healing factor so it should be good by like 6--”

“But if it heals wrong you’ll have to deal with that discomfort until you hit another pile of bricks and hope it pushes them back into place,”

Peter seemed to weigh his options for a moment, then decided to lift his shirt up, slipping off the stool so Bruce could examine him.

“Don’t argue with the doctor,” He muttered, giving Bruce a shy sort of smile. “I’ll have to remember that,”

“Just wait until Dr. Strange hears this, he’ll have a field day,” Miles stuck his tongue out at the annoyed look Peter sent his way.

“You shut it,”


	10. Pizza and Good Bonding Times with Spider-Son and son of Spider-Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally explain to Miles what the frickity frack patty wack is going on, and he seems to be more freaked about this than Peter showed. When Miles finally retires to his room, we learn more about his relationship with Peter, and how he ended up there in the first place. Sad boi times insue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this chapter is a little all over the place, but I had to get through the scene transition because I have a lot more planned and this is setting the metaphorical stage (I can't afford a real one, sorry to disappoint). It explains a little bit about the whole plot of this story, so I hope it makes some sense??? Next chapter is going to be in a new POV! Because I need some Peter emotional moments from his own perspective (finally). We also might see a little bit of Deadpool next chapter??? Maybe??? I hope so??? Okay, comment if you crazy kids want to, or just enjoy the rodeo from afar (that's also fine with me). AND I recently got a Tumblr, so there's that. It's just me being a nerd and occasionally making Peter Parker and Percy Jackson memes. Hit me up: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thatonedudeinthecorner

A few hours later, Peter ordered pizza and sat everyone down in the living room.

He seemed somewhat nervous, glancing between Miles and Tony, then towards the window. 

Finally, after sitting on the counter nursing his bandaged ribs, he brought a stool in front of the tv and plopped down in it.

“Okay, so I have no idea how to explain this,” He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly as he eased further into his seat. “Miles,” Said boy perked up at the sound of his name, giving Peter a quizzical look. 

Tony watched as Peter carefully glanced at him once more, tapping his wrist. His wrist? Tony mused to himself. 

Then it dawned on him. 

“We’re sort of undercover right now,” Tony explained, raising an eyebrow slowly, to which Peter nodded. 

“So I got a call this morning when I could’ve been sleeping in,” Miles hummed in amusement, giving Peter a look. “Well, anyway, it was Morgan. She called about a disturbance in the tower…” He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. “So I zipped my way over and I...well, I found the Avengers,” 

Miles didn’t seem to understand, leaning forward slightly in his seat on the arm of the couch, next to Bruce. “That makes sense, it is sort of where they go,” 

Peter shook his head, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “I mean, like, the AVENGERS Avengers!” 

“Yes, I know who the Avengers are. You’re one of them, Peter,” He quirked an eyebrow, looking equally as frustrated as Peter’s hand gestures suggested he was. 

“Guys, just...just take off the watches,” 

Steve stood up from the armchair, sliding the watch off slowly, handing it back to Peter. A dull blue light seemed to scan his body, then it disappeared. He glanced around him, looking for some sort of difference, but there was none. 

Well, besides the flabbergasted look on Miles’s face. He spluttered for a moment, bracing himself with a hand on the back of the couch. 

“But,” he looked at Peter, then to Steve, then back to Peter. “He’s...you’re Captain America. Like, the old Captain America. Like, Steve Rogers,” 

“I know, he looks so young!” Peter finally gushed out, his posture relaxing even further into his seat. 

“Wait,” Miles seemed to realize what was happening, glancing at Tony and Bruce, then to Peter. With the speed he was turning his head, Tony was afraid it was going to fall off. “Does that mean…?” 

“Oh hell yeah,” Peter nodded to the two on the couch, and Bruce hesitantly stood, closely followed by Tony. They both took off the watches, handing them to Peter, who set them on the coffee table, more focused on Miles’s reaction than anything. 

“Holy shit,” He breathed, watching something they couldn’t see as the blue light faded. 

After just staring for a moment, his face slowly morphed into something else. Shock? Awe? Tony couldn’t really place it, not until Miles sent the look towards Peter.

Horror. He was looking at Peter with a fearful expression as if he was about to throw his chair across the room or something. 

Tony watched as Peter glanced timidly at the three of them standing in front of him, giving Miles a warm smile in return. “Pretty crazy, right?” His voice was soft and smooth, filled with some sort of undertone Tony couldn’t place. 

“Peter,” Miles said hesitantly, but his gaze sharpened quickly, shutting Miles up.

“Miles,” Peter said, in a slightly more playful tone, standing up from his seat to brush past the three of them, setting himself down next to Miles. 

A moment of silence passed between them, and finally, Peter pressed the side of his head under Miles’s arm, letting the younger boy lean on him. 

The small display of affection was enough to make Tony’s entire mood soften, chipping away carefully at his mental barriers. 

He brushed his hands on his pants awkwardly for a moment, then sat down on the opposite end of the couch, sending a dry smile towards the duo still standing. Steve was more hesitant to sit back in the armchair, but Bruce easily plopped himself in the open space between Peter and Tony. 

Tony thought for a moment, chewing on his thumb, a had just opened his mouth to break the silence, when he was interrupted. 

Peter’s stomach decided to make an entrance. 

A very loud entrance, that is. It was enough to thaw the discomfort, and everyone seemed to break at once, laughing at the embarrassment written all over Peter’s face. 

“Hopefully the pizza gets here soon,” He managed, choking on his own laughter. 

Soon enough the pizza did come, and Tony had the pleasure of watching Peter face-off with Steve with how many slices they could eat without knowingly competing.

Bruce his a snicker behind his own slice, Peter biting halfway through maybe his sixth piece as Miles slowly set his own down, much more invested in watching Peter scarf it down and reach for another. 

Steve slowly chewed on maybe his eighth slice, raising a brow at Peter. 

“You eat quite a lot,” He said after just observing for a moment. 

Peter looked up, seeing everyone staring at him sticking the slice into his mouth. 

He tried his best to look sheepish around his mouthful, raising what was left of the piece as a sort of joking toast. “My metabolism is off the walls, I eat like constantly,” 

“It’s kind of a problem,” Miles muttered to himself, but Peter made an offending sound, signaling that he heard him anyway. 

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence.

Peter busied himself with shoving all the slices into one box to stuff into the fridge, stacking maybe a dozen other boxes on top of the counter. The delivery man must’ve had a field day bringing all of them, but Peter did tip him, Tony supposed. Miles yawned, having moved to the bar table, where he rested his chin. 

“I think I’m going to head to bed,” He said, to which Peter hummed. “I wanna empty my bag and do the yearly ritual of purging myself of all those bad vibes,” 

“I feel that,” Peter nodded, his head visible as he sent Miles a thumbs up from around the fridge door. “Sweet dreams,” He sang, to which Miles snorted. 

“Okay, Dad,” He drawled out sarcastically. 

Peter waved his hand over his shoulder, and Miles took it as his cue to slink away, grabbing his phone off the coffee table, sending a mock salute to the three Avengers. 

Tony was on the couch, looking at the new updates Peter had done to his mask lenses, with Bruce on the floor next to the coffee table, reading one of Peter’s formulas for his “new” and “improved” web formula. Peter gave them free rein when he ducked into the kitchen, offering to explain anything they were confused about. 

Occasionally Bruce would mutter compliments under his breath, a borrowed pen scribbling on the margins. 

Steve was sitting on one of the window benches, watching cars pass by as he read the newspaper Peter offered him. One of the dozens lying in a pile next to a cushion. 

Tony tore his gaze away from the mechanics when Miles made his exit, looking curiously at Peter through the space above the bar. 

“So...is he your kid or something?” Bruce startled from his place next to him, hitting his knee as he gave him a look. Tony shrugged, more concerned with Peter’s reaction. Steve had looked up from his reading, curiously watching from afar. 

Peter closed the fridge, moving slowly out of the kitchen to lean against the counter, giving Tony a long, tired stare. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose, immediately turning back around to grab something off the wall, carrying it back with gentle hands. He stood behind Tony, handing him the frame gingerly. 

Tony took it with just as much caution, seeing the way Peter handled it as if it would break at the slightest bit of force. 

“He’s not my kid...persay,” Tony stared down at the photo in his hands, his lips slowly being pulled into a tight line. 

It was a picture of a man, his nose and eyes similar to Miles. Tony recognized him immediately as his father, the words underneath on a plaque formed a cold fist in Tony’s stomach. 

“Oh,” He said quietly, looking up to see Peter staring down at the frame, his eyes sort of unfocused. 

“Officer Jefferson Davis...he died protecting a Senator when a bomb went off…” He looked guiltily away, clasping his hands behind his neck. “I couldn’t save him,” He admitted, then glanced at the hallway Miles disappeared down. 

“I...oh,” Was all Tony managed, looking down at the picture again. 

“It broke him apart,” Peter said softly. “His mom as well. And then not long after, there was a fire...and,” Peter pursed his lips, gently leaning forward to take the picture back, letting it all sink in as he hung it back up in the kitchen. “He’s had a tough life,” Peter gazed at the ground, crossing his arms as he leaned against the counter again. 

“Why did you take him in?” Bruce broke the silence, and Peter looked up in surprise. “Wow, that came out wrong. It just sounds like you knew Miles before his parents….” Bruce clicked the pen uncomfortably for a moment. “Did he not have any family members that would want him?” 

“They all had their own families to deal with,” Peter said, giving Bruce a light smile, somehow understanding his awkwardly worded question. “I did know him before he needed someone to stay with. I went through all the legal steps to adopting him, so he wouldn’t have to worry about the whole foster care system,” Peter chuckled somewhat to himself. “I’m not his dad,” He paused for a moment. “Miles is like my younger brother...sure, I might go into parent-mode for some things, but I’d never try to be a father-figure. He had a dad that cared about him more than I ever could. I won’t disrespect that...I don’t want to either,” 

“That’s pretty mature thinking. A lot of adults don’t even consider things like that,” Steve piped up from across the room, sending Peter a kind smile. 

“I’m a mature person. It comes with all the trauma,” He sent a shit-eating grin in Steve’s direction, and once again Peter masked what could’ve been a very emotional moment. Tony smiled, letting everything sink in for a moment. 

“Where are we sleeping?” Bruce asked, breaking everyone out of their thoughts. Peter full-on laughed at the question, waving Bruce over with a hand. Tony watched Bruce get to his feet, Peter explaining his sleeping plans as he pointed towards the rooms down the hall. 

The art of subject changing never ceased to amaze Tony.


	11. We need better locks on the windows...or some sort of Anti-Deadpool spray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has a mental breakdown as soon as everyone goes to bed, but his ole pal Deadpool is always willing to help! Or at least cuddle. For a mercenary he sure likes cuddles. And Peter definitely needs a few of those.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  
Deep Inhale  
Okay, so I finished this chapter and heckity heck its decent enough for me! And angst! Yes, that! It's finally heeeeeere. More to come? It depends on how fast I'm going next week. Eh, comment if you want, or don't, we chill either way. ALSO! My Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thatonedudeinthecorner

Peter was terrible at changing the subject. 

He knew he was, he continued to tell himself how much he sucked, and he STILL tried to do it. He just really didn’t want to cry today, no matter how it continued to bite him in the ass. He was mentally stable, goddamnit, his therapist told him so! 

Luckily, Dr. Banner was equally as bad at changing the subject, so the two just sort of canceled each other out into one, super awkward transition. 

Mr. Stark was still looking at him weirdly. Peter knew he was, but he was too busy explaining to Dr. Banner that no, he didn’t sleep on the ceiling, his bed was just unusually clean because he fell asleep at the table last night. 

“You can take my bed, but Chewy sleeps in here,” He said, at last, still chuckling under his breath. He gestured to the dog curled up on his bed in emphasis, and Bruce laughed. 

Peter hated the way his chest hurt every time he forced a laugh. He tried to convince himself that it was probably the ribs...probably. 

He was totally fine though because he’s always fine. 

He’s Peter Parker, he’s been through worse.

“Woah, is that a solar-powered police radio?” He whipped around from where he was smoothing his sheets out, watching as Tony freaking Stark pressed a few buttons experimentally on his own contraption.

“Uh, yeah. I mean yes. Yes, it is,” He cleared his throat, feeling a blush creep it’s way up his neck. “It’s actually pretty interesting, once I figured out how to hardwire the original power source to process the upgraded solar tech, of course…” He rambled on, both Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner watching him carefully as he ran his hands over the device, pointing out certain knobs and buttons. 

Mr. Stark pointed at one of the switches on the side, and Peter leaned over to see what he was pointing at. Peter’s arm brushed his outstretched hand, and he quickly maneuvered away, out of Mr. Stark’s reach. 

‘That’s not a hug, I’m just getting the door for you,’

Stop. 

That’s not what we’re thinking about, Peter chanted in his head. We’re thinking about how we reprogrammed the police radio. 

He pulled out the mattress in the couch in his room, beginning to carefully make it, talking distractedly to Mr. Rogers, who was sitting at the end of his bed as the other two examined the contents of his room. 

It wasn’t much. A few books, a chalkboard with new tech designs and formulas, completedly with a mini-lab on his desk (just his desk with a plastic cover taped over it, beakers and test tubes galore covering the surface). 

He had a few framed photos on his walls, mainly of his with his Aunt and Uncle, one of his parents (though he can’t really remember them), and tons of his friends and Team Red and...him. 

His room was neater than it usually is, most of his clothes dumped in the laundry basket by the door, trash in the trashcan, etcetera. He had an old pair of sneakers spread out on two sides of his room from where he kicked them off, and a few shirts were hanging around, but he’d say he does a decent job at...not destroying his room. 

He set the pillow down, at last, ending whatever sentence he formed with a lame sort of “yeah”, giving Mr. Rogers a half-smile. 

“That’s two beds, and then one of you guys can crash in Ned’s room, he’s out for at least the next few nights,” He gave all three of them a bright smile, stretching his back as he stood up straight again. 

“Thanks, we appreciate it,” Dr. Banner said from where he was looking at the fire escape with a contemplative expression. 

Peter was already answering the questions in his head that he did, in fact, sneak out of there to do patrols every night. It was fine, though, he would figure something out. 

He always does. 

“I’ll crash on the couch if I end up going to sleep anyways. I have some paperwork to catch up on, and I wanted to check out some of my more recent photos. See if they’re any good, y’know?” He walked towards the door as he talked, making it to the door in front of his, opening it lightly. 

Mr. Stark was the only one who followed, being silently voted to sleep in the other room. Peter cleared his throat again, taking time to collect his thoughts as he turned away from Mr. Stark, opening the door all the way. 

“Thanks, kid,” Tony said, startling Peter a little out of his own head. 

“Uh, don’t mention it,” He shrugged, gesturing towards the bed. “I don’t know much about Time Travel, but if it’s anything like jetlag then you should try to get as much sleep as possible,” He ended with awkward finger guns, ducking out of the room, Tony shutting the door behind him as he laughed. 

Peter stopped himself from sliding down the wall right there and then, instead forcing himself back to the living room. 

His breath was too uneven, his vision too blurry. He could hear his blood rushing in his ears, his hands shaking as he unceremoniously dumped himself on the couch, hugging himself. 

It was okay, he said, trying to take in a shaky breath. His chest hurt, his head hurt, his eyes felt like there were about to burst with all the pressuring building up behind them. 

“This is fine, Peter,” He whispered to himself, falling gently to his side on the couch, bringing his legs up to his chest as he tried to control his breathing. 

He couldn’t be loud, he couldn’t bother anyone, he couldn’t…

The tears began almost immediately, running messily across his nose, onto one side of his face and into the couch cushion his cheek was smushed into. 

It was too much too soon. 

Years and years of therapy were supposed to help him get through the grieving process. He was supposed to accept he couldn’t do anything anymore. That Tony was gone...that it was okay to be sad but he had to move on. 

Anxiety meds, anti-depressants, breathing exercises, anything and everything that he did just to forget about it all didn’t prepare him for his ‘super’ life. 

He just couldn’t stop thinking about his face, when he died, how empty it was. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about how he tried to reach him in his far-away stare, how he had to be torn away from his body so his actual family could get the last goodbye. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about the burning in his throat and chest whenever he saw that face, alive and well, looking RIGHT at him. 

The looks he got today were resurfacing all over again. He thought getting a few good punches in would help to soothe some restless part of him. 

When Morgan told him that it was okay to go to her with any of this earlier, he couldn’t stand the raw emotion in her eyes. He stood up abruptly, running up the stairs so he could steady himself in the bathroom. 

When Nick Fury came, his billowing trench coat and all, and he almost hugged Peter, he needed to hiss in his ear that he was fine, and as to not destroy the time-stream they would not give ANY indication of Tony Starks death or anything that happened around the snap. 

When Harley walked in and saw the situation, the mask of humor he put up wasn’t enough to control everything inside of Peter, and he decided to focus on the frustration the most, beating up a training bot to vent some of everything building up inside of him.

The look of absolute horror Miles gave him finally broke the bit of self restrain he had found throughout his day. 

It was okay. 

Except that it wasn’t. 

Peter’s face contorted, and he pressed his legs closer to his chest, making himself even smaller than he already was. 

He was a hero. 

He was supposed to be strong. 

He was supposed to say everything is okay, he was supposed to save the day…

Then why was it all so hard?

“Baby Boy~” A sing-song voice came from the window, and Peter was immediately assaulted with the scent of tacos and bullets. “I thought since I was FINALLY back in town I’d visit my favorite cinnamon roll, and since you’re my favorite I also got some tacos from my favorite place on the other side of the city, but there’s no need to thank me--” 

The voice went quiet, and Peter heard the window shut with a light thud. He curled even tighter, trying to hide his tear-streaked face behind his hands. Nothing could mask the shaking of his body, though, a few hiccups escaping from the sobs bubbling up in his chest. 

“Baby boy?” The voice was filled with concern, and Peter heard the thud of a plastic bag against the floor, and then gloved hands where gently grabbing his own, pulling them lightly away from his face.

“I--I,” He choked out, trying to tug his hands away as he squeezed his eyes shut as if to shield himself from reality. “Wade,” He sobbed, to which he was quickly swept up into strong arms, the familiar scent of leather polish and coconut oil helping Peter force out a few more quiet reassurances that he’s fine. 

“Shhh,” Deadpool cooed, sitting on the couch, allowing Peter’s long legs to spread out on the soft cushions. 

Peter pressed his face into Wade’s chest, trying to deny that anything was wrong. Wade finally had enough, yanking his mask off in one clean motion, forcing Peter’s chin up with a finger. 

“You don’t have to be fine,” He said, any hint of joking gone from his tone. Peter took one look into his completely earnest gaze, and he melted. 

He became a blubbering mess, Deadpool’s arms wrapped around his torso, a hand gently running through Peter’s hair. 

He told him everything, starting from the call he got from Morgan in the morning, then how he figured out some sort of dimensional rift was created, explaining his fight with the Rhino and how much he just wanted to throw up over how everything was physically straining him. 

Deadpool nodded every once and a while, humming in acknowledgment when Peter would pause to try and steady his breathing. 

“Sounds like you’ve had a really tough day,” He said at last. 

“Mhm,” Peter half-sobbed, a huge shiver wracking his body. “It’s just...I can’t stop seeing his face every time I close my eyes. I thought I was better than this. I thought…” He broke off, pressing his lips tightly together as he sniffed. 

“No matter how much you want it to go away, you can’t solve this one, Spidey,” Deadpool told him softly, leaning his head back. “Not even with that big beautiful brain of yours,” 

Peter laughed quietly, bringing a hand up to press against his forehead. His cold fingers felt refreshing against his hot face. “You were gone for like-like a few months. When did you become so wise?” 

“I’ve always been wise, Baby-Boy,” He booped Peter’s nose, giving a sort of devilish grin. “When did you become so grown-up?” Peter was beginning to calm down, laugh-sobbing at the comment. “Seriously, what is up with you. Tall AND fine as hell, Petey-Pie! Your jawline could cut glass, and the bags under your eyes are very adult of you!” 

“Ew,” Peter laughed, wiping his eyes as he shifted closer to Deadpool’s side. “You’re like twenty years older than me. Last time you saw me I was like 18,” Wade shrugged, kicking his legs up on the coffee table. 

“You make me sound old. I’m like ten years older than you, Mister, AND I’m still sexy and you can’t deny it!” Peter laughed softly, looking up at him with sleep-deprived eyes. 

“Please shut up,” He batted his lashed for effect, which were still wet, and Wade just cackled.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is suspicious of why Deadpool is in Peter's house, and Peter needs a nap. Wade makes waffles and leaves with the promise of telling sending postcards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first of all, I have no idea what I'm doing. And letter B, I'm freaking out because of the new Steven Universe Future episodes that're coming out in a few hours. I have plans for the next chapter but they're very vague, so happy holidays to everyone because I have no idea when the next chapter will come!! Comment, or don't, it's always fun to find comments, though!! Also, I have a Tumblr now, so check it out: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thatonedudeinthecorner

Tony woke up around 4 am. 

Although Peter was joking about the whole “jet-lag/time-travel” thing, he was sure there was some truth behind the statement, otherwise, he wouldn’t have passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow. 

His eyes were weighed down with some sort of grogginess that stubbornly refused to leave his eyelids until he rubbed them a few times. His mouth tasted like sawdust, which he took as a good motivation to pull himself out from under the bedsheets. Also, the smell of something cooking led his feet over his brain, and he ended up in the hallway. 

He made sure to keep his steps fairly light, hearing Miles snoring through the walls. Someone was humming in the kitchen, the sound of a whisk being used was ringing around the space as Tony emerged into the living room. 

Peter was curled to one side of the couch, an arm thrown on the armrest with his head leaning against it. He was drooling lightly onto his sleeve, his features completely relaxed, matching the steady rise and fall of his chest. One of his legs was stretched across the rest of the empty cushions, a single pillow held to his chest with his other arm. 

He looked a lot younger when he was asleep, and Tony couldn’t help the image of the bubbly fifteen-year-old that couldn’t fathom a reason why a billionaire would be in his house, despite the fact it was very obvious that he was the same Spider-kid in all the YouTube videos. 

It brought a small smile to his face, but Tony immediately turned to the noises in the kitchen. If it wasn’t Peter in there, who would be up at this hour to be cooking? Even Steve didn’t wake up for his morning run until at least 5.

He crept closer to the bar, trying to get a glimpse at whoever was poking around in the fridge. There was a waffle maker out, steaming with the lid down, and a bowl with a whisk sticking out of the top of what he assumed was batter. 

He recognized the figure as the door shut, which was around the same time he recognized the song he was humming. 

Why was Deadpool humming ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ in Peter Parker’s kitchen? 

“Why--”

“Shhhhh,” He held out a hand, immediately silencing Tony as he turned to lift the lid of the waffle maker up, placing the newly made waffle onto a stack of them next to a bowl of fruit. “Petey-pie is napping!” He hissed, the eyes of his mask going wide as he stood on his tippy-toes to glance at Peter, who was still sound asleep on the couch. 

He shook a finger at Tony as if he was a toddler who did something wrong, then turned completely away from him, beginning to pour more batter into the hot iron. 

“Who let you in here?” Tony hissed back, keeping his volume considerably lower, glancing behind him at Peter. 

Deadpool giggled, turning around to lean on the counter with his hip cocked. Tony noticed the ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron he had on over his suit and didn’t even bother asking where it came from. “It’s funny that you think I was let in,” 

“You better get out of here before I--”

“Before you what? Destroy Petey’s lovely home in an attempt to exterminate a pest who’s unexterminable?”

“That’s not a word,” He deadpanned, sighing in defeat as he took Deadpool’s words into consideration. 

“You’re not a word!” He high-fived himself, then turned back to the waffles. 

Tony sat down at the counter, resting his head on a hand as he supervised the cook. He figured if he can’t get rid of him, he might as well make sure he doesn’t burn anything while he’s there. 

Tony could practically feel the migraine forming. 

“Well at least tell me how you know Peter,” He leaned forward, squinting at the mercenary as he froze in his movements, slowly putting the lid down with a soft sizzling sound. 

“Oh, it’s a beautiful story involving death, fighting,” He turned dramatically towards Tony, his eyebrows wiggling under the mask. “Romance~” His voice dropped a pitch, and he turned back to the waffle maker, his arm draped over his eyes. “It was on a warm summer day, June, midnight--”

“You just said it was day,” Deadpool turned towards him, whisk in hand as he pointed it at him accusingly. 

“Watch it, buster, I’m narrating!!” A glob of batter fell to the floor, but Deadpool ignored it, stepping forward in a flourish as he looked at the ceiling. “He was standing across the room, I was entering the coffee shop. Our eyes met from across the crowd. It felt like nobody else in the world existed except the two of us--”

“We met on a rooftop after you complimented my ass,” A raspy voice came from behind them, and both Tony and Deadpool turned in surprise, watching as Peter sat up on the couch, raising his arms above his head as he stretched. A soft squeak came out of his mouth, and he sighed as he let his arms fall back to his side. 

He gazed over at Deadpool slowly, smiling goofily at him. “Then I punched you in the face and you fell off the roof. I caught you, and then you followed me around for the next week on patrol.”

“Boo!” Deadpool jeered, cupping his hands over his mouth. “You bore me. I’m bored. Look at that, you’ve killed me. From boredom, and I can’t even die!”

“Shut up, I’m telling the truth!” Deadpool began to go off about how he needed to say it with more emotion, Peter countering with the fact he did say it with emotion, which was sarcasm. It ended with Deadpool turning in surprise, his hands on his cheeks. 

“MY WAFFLES!” He screamed, rushing over to the waffle iron in a frenzy, pulling the lid up as he moaned in agony. “See what you did? You ruined my glorious waffle. Are you happy?” 

“No, I’m Peter,” He called from the couch, making his way slowly to sit in the seat next to Tony. “Sleep well?” He said, his voice quieter than his previous tone. 

“Uh, perfectly,” Tony responded, caught a bit off guard. Peter gave him a blinding smile, leaning his chin on the palms of his hands as he began to tease Deadpool, who was on his knees by the trash, giving the burnt waffle a ‘proper send-off’. 

“Here, you filthy animal,” Deadpool slammed a plate of waffles in front of Peter, topped off with chocolate chips and whipped cream. He made heart hands at Peter, then flipped him off. 

“Oh man, really?” Deadpool huffed, turning around to go back to the rest of his batter. “Thank you,” He called, moving to lean on an elbow as he batted his eyelashes in Deadpool’s direction. “Have I mentioned recently that you’re my favorite mercenary?” 

Deadpool turned quickly, holding a hand on his chest in shock. “You promise?”

Peter tried to control his smile, nodding enthusiastically at the other. “Cross my heart,”

“I’m going to ignore the fact that that expression is physically impossible and just awww,” He placed a hand on his cheek, using the other hand to make a ‘stop it’ gesture. Peter mimicked his earlier actions, making heart hands followed immediately by flipping him off. “Not that I don’t love you,” Deadpool began, untying his apron and folding it over his arm. 

“There’s a but,” Peter urged, his mouth half full of waffles. 

“I gotta go,” Deadpool finished, watching as Peter swallowed another waffle within the span of two seconds. He was probably giving Peter a face through his mask.

“Oh, that’s fine,” Peter waved his hand simply, placing his fork down to resist the temptation of eating another waffle. “Thanks for stopping by. Next time you leave for like four years, tell a guy why don’t ya? Or send postcards. Postcards are good,” He gave Deadpool a cheeky smile, waiting for him to make the first move. 

He took the bait, taking a step forward, then paused. After staring at each other for a moment, he finally sighed, making his way out of the kitchen and towards peter. He hugged him tightly, murmuring something in his ear. Peter’s ears went red, and Deadpool pulled away. 

“Thank you, Wade,” He mock-saluted Peter, then left, using the front door. Peter sighed, staring at the spot where he was standing in the kitchen for a second, then brightened up, glancing at Tony as he picked his fork back up. 

“I guess I’ll have to clean up this mess, then,” He laughed a little to himself, looking at the plate in front of him as if he suddenly lost his appetite. “And take my meds,” He muttered to himself, poking at the food for a moment, then perked up, as if realizing Tony was still there. “After that, I need to patrol and then I’ll have to take you guys back to the tower...or maybe the compound would be best…” 

He shoved a waffle in his mouth quickly, forcing all of it in with the edge of his fork, chewing with a bit of difficulty. 

“Maybe you should take a nap instead?” Tony suggested, watching as Peter choked a little, banging a hand to his chest as he coughed. 

“I’ll sleep when I’m tired,” He gave Tony a shit-eating grin, but all he could see we’re the bags under his eyes. “And I’m never fucking tired,”


	13. Mr. Murdock, in my defense I'm emotionally unstable and will kindly ask you not to kill me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is very sleep deprived and he just wants to cry and punch people. Unfortunately for him, he ends up in a situation he really would prefer to avoid, meaning Team Red is back and 2/3rd's of them are ready to go therapist on our Spiderling. Peter would honestly rather it have been Doc Oc over these two dumbasses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not dead...yet. Literally I've just been watching Brooklyn 99 while sadly eating french fries for the past two weeks, forgetting anything and everything because exams make me big sad. It's another Peter POV chapter!! Because I stared at my doc for like fifteen minutes and went "ya know what would be funny?". Side note, my ADHD has been focusing on this one clip of Zach Callison in Mailboxes saying "Do you wanna dump a bunch of packing peanuts on the ground and vacuum them up again?" because I guess it resonates within me for some reason. My friend Olivia says hi...I just talked with her. Comment if you wanna, whenever I see any I'm like "people? Who care? Wowie". Or don't, because that's also chill!! Check out my Tumblr, because I have one of those now (https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thatonedudeinthecorner). See y'all in...okay, bye!!

Peter was tired.

Yes, he did repeatedly deny that he needed it when people tried to point out that he should probably take a nap, and yes he was being a stubborn asshole by continuing to disobey Wade’s advice that he shouldn’t try to work himself to death because ‘that’s what he did when he was upset’.

But! Peter argued to himself, he did get at least 3 hours of sleep the past night, AND it wasn’t at the table.

According to Miles, who he saw maybe 15 minutes ago when he was making adjustments to his webshooters, he looked like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Peter was okay with that. He WAS on the verge of a mental breakdown. And what does he do when he’s about to fall apart?

Beat the shit out of people.

Man, he was starting to sound a LOT like Daredevil.

After Mr. Stark tried desperately to coax him into going back to sleep, Peter knew he had to get out of there.

This was something Peter just couldn’t fix, like Deadpool had told him a few hours ago.

This WAS something Peter could try to avoid, though. He was good at avoiding things, at least in his mind. Once, he spent an entire week avoiding MJ before she found him hiding under a desk in the lab eating ice cream.

Okay, maybe he wasn’t the best at it, and maybe it wasn’t healthy, but Peter had lost at least five of his six brain cells during those three hours he was unconscious this morning.

Maybe not sleeping would turn out alright for Peter.

He could go at least 48 hours without a siesta...probably. He just needed coffee.

Lots of coffee.

And a bagel.

Two bagels.

He made a mental list of the amount of caffeine he would consume by 10 this morning as he swung towards a coffee shop. He could start with one cup before he runs into a brick wall...for the second time.

He landed in front of the glass door, startling the few people walking out. For maybe 6 am, there were more than Peter thought there would be, but it was New York, what else did he expect?

Right, he reminded himself as he walked in and got absolutely gobsmacked expression from the twelve people in the shop, he was in the Spider-Man suit.

Almost forgot about that one.

He smiled awkwardly from underneath the mask, his eye lenses going back to normal after they expanded with his shock.

He shuffled his way to the counter, making a full turn to acknowledge everyone in the room, before turning to face the teenager running the cash register. He glanced at the menu for a moment, placing his hand on his chin in contemplation.

“Oooo, do you have any of those fancy coffee beans?” He looked at the kid for a second, waiting for some sort of reaction.

All he received was the same frozen stare on the teen’s face as he stared at the famous hero. Peter laughed uncomfortably, lowering his volume as he leaned forward a little.

“I’m joking,” He whispered. “I don’t think fancy coffee beans are worth it...in this economy?” He chuckled to himself again, clearing his throat when no one responded. Someone had their phone out, either about to ask for a picture or because they were already recording him.

“Hi?” He tried again, waving at a little boy with what looked to be his grandma. He raised his own hand in reply, grinning up at his grandma as he jumped up to whisper something to her.

“Y-you,” The teen managed, and Peter turned back to the counter. “You’re Spider-man!”

“Yes,” Peter tried to keep the same tone, trying not to laugh. “What gave me away? Was it my charming personality? It was, wasn’t it??” The teen did laugh this time, and Peter considered it some type of victory. “Seriously, though. Can I have some coffee, please? Unless I completely misread the whole coffee shop vibe here and you actually sell smoothies,” The teen was giving him a goofy smile, and he continued. “In that case, I’ll take a strawberry banana and be on my way,”

“No!” The teen exclaimed, blushing when they realized they’d yelled. “No, we sell coffee here. But we can definitely make you a smoothie Mr. uh, Spider-Man sir,”

“Coffee is fine. I’m just a regular superhero who would like a regular coffee,” He laughed again, fiddling with his gloves. “Call me Spidey,”

“Uh, yeah, right on that Spidey,” He rattled off some bullshit order, getting his two bagels.

After he paid and the teen turned to make his order, he slipped a ten into the tip jar, hoping his appearance wasn’t too much of a disturbance.

“Spidey,” Someone tapped him on his shoulder, and he turned, smiling a little as he saw the older woman from before holding the hand of the little kid.

“Yes, ma’am?” He leaned his elbows a little on the counter behind him as he watched the two curiously. It seemed the entire shop was slowly gaining confidence with his relaxed responses.

“My grandson here was wondering, well,” She pushed him forward a little. “Go ahead and ask him, sweetie,”

“Um,” The kid stuttered, probably no older than 7 or 8. “How are you not afraid of falling?”

Peter’s heart practically melted, and he knelt so he was eye-level with him.

“Well, y’ know I never really think of it like that,” The boy tilted his head in question, and Peter held out one of his wrists to show him. “Whenever I’m up there, swinging from my webs, I feel really good. And it’s just that, swinging. Its fun, really, just ignore the fact that you’re hundreds of feet in the air. Just swinging around,”

“Like Tarzan,” The boy nodded wisely, and Peter laughed, holding out a hand for him to high five.

“Exactly like Tarzan,” They boy returned the high five, and he pulled his grandma away, insisting in excited whispers that he knew Spider-man could never be afraid.

The burning was back in his chest, Peter realized, standing up again. He was supposed to be strong. For everyone in this city, whether they believed in him or not.

His conversation with Wade kept playing over in his head.

He didn’t have to be fine. He didn’t have to be anything for anyone...but what if he was letting people down by that?

His train of thought was ruined by the same guy as before with the phone approaching him, asking if he would take a selfie.

This went on until his coffee was ready, people coming and asking for an autograph or a photo, someone even asked if he could say something for a TikTok. He ended up doing a flip, playing (and losing) rock, paper, scissors with an intern on a morning coffee run, and explaining to about five people that he could climb walls without the suit, too, just because he was that cool.

His coffee and bagels were done, and he left with one last fist bump to the barista, swinging a few blocks away before he sat down on a rooftop for a moment of silence.

Unfortunately, that meant he was alone with his thoughts again.

He learned a long time ago that he couldn’t save everyone.

His Uncle Ben, his Aunt, Mr. Stark, and _him_. He knows he couldn’t do anything about it, that it wasn’t his fault...but wasn’t it?

His Uncle wouldn’t have died if he wasn’t too slow in pushing him away from the bullet.

His Aunt wouldn’t have died if he had pressed her a little more to see the doctors sooner, instead of letting her put it off for her other responsibilities.

Mr. Stark wouldn’t have died if he had just gotten the gauntlet away from the space grape bitch, or if he’d come up with the idea to get the stones himself. He was stronger than Mr. Stark, he might’ve survived.

If he didn’t get his friends involved, then maybe Harry wouldn't have died. Maybe _he_ would still be...

No, Peter took in a deep breath, glancing at his coffee, before lifting it with a shaking hand, pulling his mask up to his nose with his other hand, we can’t be thinking like this again. 

Years and years ago he would’ve let all of this consume him, let it get to his head.

But now? Peter knew a little more about the world.

He’d given himself time, let himself open up to others, let himself _cry_, because fuck, he really needed to cry sometimes.

He learned to cope with the pain.

If Steven Universe had taught him anything, he needed to let himself feel like absolute shit before he could get better. And he was better, goddamit. He might not be perfect, he might not even be good, but he was better.

It hurt.

It hurt a lot.

Sometimes he couldn’t even get up because it hurt so much, but that’s all it is.

Just pain.

It doesn’t control him. It makes him _feel_...in general.

It forces anyone to want anything but this terrible spiral down.

But you have to go down before you can get back up again.

Like swinging...and Peter wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t afraid of falling. Not anymore.

“When I heard from Wade that you were back I thought he was lying. But now that I know he wasn’t, give me one good reason why I shouldn’t push you off this roof right now,”

Peter sipped his coffee, crumbling up the bag his first bagel was in, placing it inside the bigger bag. He wondered that maybe if he just sat very still, he might be left alone.

Eh, who is he kidding? The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen can smell fear from a mile away. 

“Because I’m cute?” He tilted his head back, smiling lightly at Matt as he grumbled under his breath from the other side of the rooftop. Another voice came from the right, but Peter was busy charming Daredevil. 

“It’s true. He’s very adorable, even now! I mean, I might even call him hot if I didn’t have any dignity...what the hell, he’s fucking hot!!” 

“That’s gross,” Peter said, swinging his legs back over the ledge so he was facing Matt and Wade now.

“Shut up, I’m defending that beautiful ass of yours, Spidey,” Deadpool sauntered his way over, leaving Matt to brood by himself. He sat down, taking Peter’s second bagel out of the bag and lifting his mask up to stick it in his mouth. 

“I earned that bagel, you ass! I did a flip!!” 

“You do flips every day, don’t try to guilt me into regretting this bagel,” He pouted at Wade, who pulled his mask down again. “Regretting a bagel is the worst punishment you could give to someone,” 

“I’ll add that to my list,” Matt said, at last, as he uncrossed his arms, making his way towards Peter, who stood up when he was getting close. 

“To be fair, you weren’t even here when I left for college, so when I got back I didn’t even know if you were back yet,” 

“Spidey, you do know phones exist,”

“I didn’t, actually, thanks for the new info, I’ll be right on that,” He opened his arms, leaving himself defenseless as a sort of peace offering.

Matt tilted his chin to the right, probably listening to his heart, the fucking creep.

After a moment of them just standing there, Peter made the first move, stepping forward and collapsing into Matt in a hug. It was returned just as tightly, and all was content for a moment. 

“You got sassy since I last saw you,” Matt rested his chin on top of Peter’s head. 

“I’ve always been sassy, I just lost some of my restraint,” Peter mumbled into his chest, breathing deeply the smell of leather and cologne. “I did miss you, but I’m stupid so I forget to call people,” 

“I know,” Matt replied, letting them hug in silence for a moment. “Foggy and Karen will be stoked that you’re back, though, If you start hanging around the office again you can add some of your Parker charm,”

“Because people like to confess around me?” Peter laughed a little, as Matt hummed in agreement. 

“We need to talk,” Matt finally pulled away, keeping his hands on Peter’s shoulders.

He was taller than Matt now, not by much but it made Peter feel almost proud.

Matt was probably making sure he wasn’t injured, listening to his bones (ew), smelling him or whatever the fuck he does. Peter stood there awkwardly, looking over when Wade stood up, walking so he stood next to them. 

“About…?” Peter asked after a few seconds. 

“Wade told me about your little...situation,” Peter’s head whipped around and he pointed accusingly at Deadpool. 

“You did what now?”

Wade raised his hands in surrender, taking in the air of intimidation around Peter.

That was new. “It was important. This means there’s some sort of villain out there with the power to open dimensional rifts in their hands. I thought you might want...well, a few more friends who have your back,” 

Peter backed off, letting his shoulder slump as he brought a hand to his head. “I’m...I’m sorry, ‘m just,” He let out a long breath. “Thank you,”

“Hey, this has got to be hard on you especially, with...well,” Matt placed a hand on his shoulder again, and Peter could feel tears welling up in his eyes again.

He wasn’t going to cry. Not even when his friends didn’t give a shit if he started sobbing. It was more of a personal thing now, he just didn’t want to cry again. Not on a rooftop in the Spider-Man suit.

“Yeah,” He managed, and he knew Wade’s gaze was softening behind his mask. 

“Are you okay?” Matt’s voice was low and soft, and Peter let his shoulder relax. 

“No,” He answered honestly, hugging his arms to himself, shaking his head. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter,” 

“It does though--” He cut Wade off with another shake of his head. 

“No, I mean, I know it does but it’s,” He steeled himself, letting his hands drop to his sides as he straightened up. “We have a lot more things to worry about, and I need your help...if you’re willing,” 

Wade nodded, and Matt’s mouth formed into a grim smile. “Always. What’s going through that big brain of yours?” 

Peter let himself smile, something akin to hope building in his chest. “Have either of you heard of Dr. Strange?”


	14. Panic? Panic.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (At the disco) Peter begins to theorize what's been causing the dimensional disturbances with new information from Dr. Strange. He asks Miles for help to solidify his idea but realizes some darker motives behind the dimensional rifts. Also, Team Red took his suit and now he's stuck with Matt's clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was considering making this chapter really long because I have many ideas of what the heck is happening, but it's my thing to leave unofficial official cliffhangers. SO I did. You're welcome. I'm excited because this maybe sorta hints at the "new" avengers meeting the old avengers and starting some shit (oh ho ho the fires they will set), and that concept is always fun. Maybe next chapter will be a Peter POV because he did a whole inspirational speech and on the inside, I think he's just quietly chanting 'fuck'. Mood, complete mood. I'll be back...with more...soon...maybe. Comment down below, or don't. Honestly just ask anything because I'm always ready to get into long convoluted conversations about what the fuck is happening (I don't know either so I mean), but it's also fun to see the occasional "hah, nice,". Also, Tumblr? (@thatonedudeinthecorner) I make many memes, but also feel free to hit me up. Okay, adios!!

Peter burst back into the apartment maybe five hours after he left in the suit, looking frazzled and in civilian clothes.

Tony didn’t know how to respond when it was clear Peter wasn’t going to take his advice of a nap, even though he looked dead on his feet. 

So, as to not look like a hypocrite, he just shrugged and asked where he kept his coffee, watching as he jumped out the window and swung away from his spot on the couch. 

After half an hour of tinkering with his toaster, Steve woke up, wearing one of Peter’s science pun shirts that had been lent to him the night before. He nodded in greeting to Tony, moving cautiously towards the kitchen, very clearly keeping in mind the distance between them. 

Not that Tony cared. 

For the next hour or so they stayed in silence, Steve reading one of Peter’s books at the kitchen table while Tony sat on the couch, flipping aimlessly through the channels on the television.

He knew that might cause some sort of time paradox, with him knowing ‘too much’, but he wasn’t deliberately looking for news stations, and he definitely wasn’t trying to spoil The Office for himself. 

Bruce and Miles woke up around the same time, talking idly to each other as they walked the short distance of the hallway. 

Tony pretended he was busy with the toaster again, really more interested in what Miles had to say. 

He didn’t seem very talkative, mainly awkward, and it reminded Tony a lot of Peter in that aspect. 

Miles, unlike Peter, was very cautious with what he said, constantly looking at Steve and Tony before he answered Bruce. 

Bruce didn’t seem to mind, keeping his patience well as he stirred milk into his coffee, offering the pot to Miles.

The unlikely duo continued their back and forth banter, until eventually, Miles excused himself to the blackboard, washing the scene away with a wet sponge before he sat down in front of it, rolling a piece of chalk between his fingers. 

And that’s where everyone sat, in almost peaceful silence for however many hours. Miles had finally stood up, sketching an outline with a piece of white chalk, and Bruce was feeding Chewy whatever was left of his breakfast while Steve gazed on in amusement over his book. 

Tony was about the suggest checking in with the rest of the team at the Tower when Peter burst into the room.

Miles dropped his piece of chalk, bringing his hands up in a karate chop position as Tony almost fell off the couch. 

Bruce and Steve looked up at the sound, Bruce more startled than Steve appeared to be at the sudden entrance. 

“MILES!!” He managed between catching his breath, leaning on the door as he closed it quickly. 

“You don’t have to shout, I’m right here,” The startled teen snarked, watching as Peter continued to take in a few more deep breaths before turning, straightening the button up he was wearing. 

“Where’s the suit?” Tony asked, leaning his arm over the couch, around the same time Miles picked up the chalk again.

“Are you okay? Didn’t you go out on patrol?” He asked, tossing the chalk into the bucket with the rest of them.

“I was attacked by two old men wearing red and now I’m dressed like a lawyer,” Peter rushed his somewhat explanation out quickly, combing his hair back with a hand. “But more importantly,”

“More importantly?” Miles said, quietly, an absolutely baffled expression on his face. 

Peter continued as if nothing happened. “I consulted an expert in all the mystical magical timey whimey nonsense, and although he doesn’t know much about the interdimensional aspects, or the mechanics of the known time travel theory, he has an idea of how the rift was created,” 

“And you want my knowledge of dimensional travel to try and piece this together?’ Miles filled in the blank for him, and Peter nodded enthusiastically.

Steve glanced at Bruce, who was giving him a just as lost look, which was then received by Tony. 

“Wait, hold on you two” Bruce cut in, sitting up fairly straighter in his seat. “What’s all this about...what? Magic, interdimensional travel, ‘the mechanics of the known time travel theory’?” 

“I know you guys have a sort of confidential section of what you can tell us,” Tony started, the ‘but’ at the tip of his tongue. 

“Long story short, we know how time travel works thanks to a life-threatening crisis from a while ago, and Miles has messed with inter-dimensional travel,”

“Met me from another universe. He was chill, liked spray painting. Also, John Mulaney pig,” Miles supplied, adding a sort of vague edge to the end of his sentences. 

“AND,” Peter tried not to laugh at Miles, who seemed to be caught up in some sort of memory. “Of course Magic exists, it’s pretty flippin’ cool but that another conversation for another day,” Bruce opened his mouth as if to protest, but then thought better of it and just shrugged in defeat. 

“Okay, ignoring the numerous questions I have for later, what do you think is going on?” Tony moved back a little as peter jumped the back of the couch, landing next to him as he waved his hands a few times, collecting his thoughts. 

“Potentially, whoever has the technology to not only create a rift but also pull people through it could have knowledge of the time or reality stone. It’s a low percentage of accuracy because all the stones are kept on a tight profile nowadays after that whole fiasco,” His eyes darkened for a second, and he shook his head as if to clear it. 

Steve and Bruce began to move towards the couch as well, and Miles didn’t hesitate to drape himself over Peter’s shoulders on the couch.

“What are you thinking then? That maybe they have information on the multiverse? What are the motives behind all this?”

“To destroy all timelines...to create just one existing timeline? Maybe they’re trying to pinpoint their enemies into one location before setting off the fireworks,” 

“Meaning?” Steve asked, leaning forward in his seat. 

All eyes were on Peter, but he was so deep in his own head he didn’t seem bothered by it. 

His brows here drawn together, hands clasped and pressed to his lips. 

Maybe his brain was finally giving out on him, Tony mused to himself.

“Meaning they want us all in one place,” Peter’s knuckles turned white at the force he was pressing his hands together. “So they can destroy any chance of beating them all at once,”

“Shit,” Tony murmured, getting a sideways glance from the others, minus Peter. “If I were a supervillain that would be a fucking epic way to end all good in the universe,” 

“All universes,” Miles added, his lips pulled into a thin line. “Whoever they are they want to put infinite universes, infinite people...lives in jeopardy. They don’t want to rule the world,”

“They want to rule all the worlds,” Bruce breathed, his face going pale, eyes wide. “Whatever they have planned they want to be in control...and I don’t think I want to find out what they have planned,” 

“We’ll take them down before they get the chance,” Peter finally shook out of his stupor, moving his gaze across the people sitting in front of him. “There’s a lot more good out there than you’d think. And we’re bitches to beat,” His eyes sparked with an idea, and he began to smile, a bit small at first, as he took his phone out. 

“I have a few calls to make,”


	15. Internal Monologue: Fuuuuuuuuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Peter calms himself down enough to form coherent sentences, he heads out with Miles in tow to try and make peace with his old team. The thing is, they might not so easily forgive and forget, and Peter’s five seconds away from crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter, folks. I really just wanted an excuse to make it official that theres a group chat that exists with all the heroes and vigilantes in it. I also wanted to add more on the whole “Peter yeeted out of the superhero life for like five years” thing that I’ve been doing. FINALLY INTRODUCING THE UNOFFICIAL NEW AVENGERS!! I’ve made it, and it’s great, and I’m on a roll. I stopped moping around while waiting for the new SUF episodes to come out and I made a new chapter and actually figured out some of the plot, so score!! Uh, basic stuff: comment if you want, like seriously don’t be afraid to shit on my writing or ask questions and junk, I do a lil happy dance whenever someone does. Hit me up on tumblr, too (@thatonedudeinthecorner) I make memes. Okay, until next time!!

Peter had no idea what he was doing. 

He had a bunch of jumbled ideas bouncing around his head that should, in theory, become one good idea. 

But that was the problem, he didn’t have time to bring all the thoughts together. So he had ideas, all coexisting with each other in complete mayhem. 

So everything was going great.

He packed up his spy suit into a duffle bag, throwing in all of his materials for adjusting web-shooters and any extra web fluid he may have lying around. 

After a few seconds of standing in front of the bag, his legs tensed to move, he decided to throw in extra clothes and toiletries—he didn’t know how long he was going to be gone, and he didn’t want to make the mistake of forgetting toothpaste again. 

He rushed back through the hallway, coming to a stop in front of the three avengers. 

Former avengers. Well, avenger and retired avenger and then...well, you get the point. 

They were told some sort of word vomit before Peter rushed away, having a mini panic attack in his room as he packed a bag for the compound. 

It would be Miles’ first time there, Peter thought briefly, wincing to himself. 

Joy. 

Speaking of Miles, Peter whipped around when he reappeared from his room, his backpack stuffed with who-knows-what, fresh basketball shorts on. 

Peter opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find exactly what to say.

Miles stood next to him, shoulder one of the straps on his bag. 

“Take your time,” He whispered, giving Peter a mischievous grin. 

Oh, he was so going to get him back for that...after he figured out what the fuck he was supposed to say in this situation. 

He found out why the problem was happening and how. Big checkmark on his list of problems. 

Who? Not quite there yet. 

He’d sent out a mass text to the group chat saved for special occasions (world-threatening crises, and memes), telling everyone to get their asses together quick because they were about to get kicked. 

He received a frowny face emoji from Danny Rand, a thumbs up from Dr. Banner...well, Dr. Hulk or whatever his name was, and a single “lmao” from Shuri. 

He was worried he wouldn’t get any responses, after his whole disappearing act, but after reassuring everyone that he would hunt them down and punch them so hard they’d break all their ribs, everyone agreed to meet. 

Team Red and Dr. Strange had already been notified about all this (luckily for him, Deadpool was officially banned from the chat, and Peter didn’t want to get into another gif war), but he appreciated Daredevils response to the message anyways, adding to his original threat by refusing to help any of the Defenders out with legal matters unless they took Peter seriously. 

He did have to text Frank Castle with a burner phone, just an address with a “:)” as an afterthought. 

Despite all of these tasks being completed, Peter had yet to find a way to explain the situation, the WHOLE situation, to anyone. 

So here he stood, in front of the three avengers, chewing his lip without a single planned sentence in his mind.

“I,” He started, then backtracked. “We...I mean,” he gestured towards Miles and then himself. “Let me rephrase that,”

“Rephrase what?” Mr. Stark gave a short sort of breathy laugh, watching Peter with a hint of fear in his eyes. Who wouldn’t be afraid, Peter was the unofficial official leader of this mission to save the world, and he couldn’t even talk to them. 

Peter counted back from five in his head, gripping the strap on his bag until his knuckles turned white. 

Deep breaths, he told himself, confidence blooming in his chest, very slowly. 

“I’m going to give you the keys to my car, and you guys need to head straight to the compound. I’ve called together a meeting of all the...of most of the heroes,” He winced at that last part, knowing very well that half of the people he hung out with weren’t very heroic. At least, not to the press’ standards. “To gather there for a briefing. Peter style,” He wiggled his toes in his shoes, trying to keep all of his fidgety energy at bay. 

Maybe sleep was a better idea than coffee. No, he scolded himself, there’s no time to regret. Only caffeine. 

“Peter style?” Dr. Banner muttered to himself, getting elbowed by Cap in the ribs. “Shutting up,”

“I’m going to meet up with, uh,” He glances at the floor for a moment, wondering if his “team” would even consider him that. After he ran away for a few years. 

“He’s going to meet up with his team,” Miles piped up, puffing his chest out proudly. “Because they are your team, dingus,” He added, a knowing look in his eyes.

“Well I know you are, but will they really be as forgiving?” He whispered back, leaning over slightly to his shoulders brushed Miles’.

“We love you, even when you’re being an ass. And you weren’t even that much of an ass this time. Remember the whole trail mix incident?”

“Of course I remember the trail mix incident, I was a bitch about it,”

“Yeah, but we still love you,” He nodded rapidly, and they were interrupted by Dr. Banner clearing his throat. 

They both jumped away from each other, looking at him expectantly. 

“The keys?” Peter stared at Tony for a second, then his eyes widened. He dug into his pocket, tossing the newfound keys towards Mr. Stark, who caught them, a little surprised. “Thanks,”

“Okay,” Peter steeled himself, taking in a deep breath, then he began to pace, wringing his hands together as he laid out the details to them. “We’re going to meet up at the compound and go over some way to find this bad guy before they find us. I’m meeting up with my...team,” 

Miles hummed in agreement and his ears felt warm. “And then I’m going to meet you all there. We need this to be quick and informative, before word gets out about us planning something. It’s bound to be something huge in the media that a bunch of superheroes are gathering in the same place. 

We also need to find a way to disable the time travel technology they seem to have, and get you guys back home. I don’t know about you, but I’d feel safer if we had a few living allies away from the fight,” He stopped, turning to face them full on. “I need you guys to trust me, because I have a plan. It’s just not fully together...yet,”

“That’s reassuring,” Mr. Rogers smiled at him, glancing over at Mr. Stark. “Wouldn’t be the first time we jumped into something clueless,” 

They all exchanged a look, and Peter couldn’t help but feel a little left out. 

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Now, I think the disguises are useless if we can get out of here quickly. Take the back stairwell and get to the car as quickly as possible. I’ll meet you guys there,” 

“Good luck,” Mr. Stark looked like he was going to say more, but thought better of it, sending him a thumbs up before they marched out of there, keeping their heads low. 

“Are you ready?” Miles asked, slinging his bag off of his shoulder. Peter turned, giving him his best lopsided smile. 

“When have I ever been?” 

...

He sent a private text out to his team, waiting as Miles pulled the boots of his suit on. 

He was quicker than Miles at the whole changing into the suit thing, but he cut Miles some slack, he did have a decade-plus of experience over him. 

He was just pulling his mask over his head when his phone buzzed. 

Once. 

Twice. 

Peter winced internally as his phone continued to buzz with new texts, glancing over his shoulder as Miles put his web-shooters on. 

Taking a breath to steady himself, he unzipped the pocket on his suit, sliding his phone out carefully. While he exhaled, he turned the phone’s screen so it was facing him, clicking the home button and looking at the messages. 

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Nova who responded first, but White Tiger instead. Last he heard from Ava she was going on one of her solo missions for SHIELD, somewhere in England he thought she mentioned, but that was a few years ago, and it seemed she noticed his absence. 

First, she replied with “Oh, he’s not dead”, then with “I’m going to kill him”. Not using his first name, Peter noticed, his palms feeling sort of sweaty under his gloves. 

He’s learned never to underestimate Ava, and he was mentally preparing himself for the ass-whooping he was about to receive. 

Sam wasn’t far behind, adding in a “Not if I get to him first” with a meme below it. It was so familiar to Peter he had to resist the urge to throw his phone across the room and hide under the covers. 

Iron Spider (his unofficial friendly rival--whenever that was decided and by who he doesn’t remember) sent an upside-down smiley face with an “I’ll be there”. Dagger texted for both herself and Cloak with a simple “On our way”, and Doreen sent a gif of a squirrel (as usual) in a disco setting. 

“I’m ready whenever you’re done overthinking the universe,” Miles said from somewhere over his shoulder, and Peter groaned in response. “That bad, huh?”

“The opposite,” Peter muttered, but Miles heard him anyway. “They actually responded,” He slipped his phone back into his pocket and headed for his room. Miles followed after a moment of hesitation, his heartbeat spiking with newfound adrenaline. 

“This is good news. I was talking with ‘Reen over April vacation and she said Tiger was pissed off at you because Mr. Fury wanted her to take over your Alaska assignment because I think that’s when you told him to go fu--”

“Yeah, I was there Miles. I remember telling Fury to ‘go fuck himself, I have an education to suffer through’,” Miles laughed as Peter ducked onto the fire escape, scaling the wall easily. 

Miles popped out a second later, joining him on the roof as he carefully climbed his way up, rambling on about how the others were also mad at him. “And then Nova was paired with Venom instead of you and Cloak said he almost cried!!” 

“Okay, I feel less bad about that one,” Peter admitted, continuing the conversation as he swung towards Stark Tower. “I actually wish I could’ve seen that one,” He half-shouted, as Miles whooped on a particularly low swing. “Did they happen to record any of it?” 

“Hah, you wish!” He called from a ways behind Peter. 

“Dang,” Peter landed on the side of an office building, sending a peace sign to the workers inside, before moving out of his crouch. “Missed opportunity,” He shouted back, letting himself spin backward so he could watch as Miles landed on the same building a moment later, maybe a few floors below. 

“You’re a missed opportunity!!” He yelled back, catching his breath as he laughed. 

Peter made an offended sound, executing a backflip before shooting another web.

“That sounds very suggestive!” He shot back and heard Miles faintly cursing under his breath. 

Still giggling to himself, Peter caught sight of the meeting spot, hopping onto the roof effortlessly, standing quickly when he picked up on the footsteps nearing. 

He thought about just running away to the compound to hide behind Harley, staring over the side of the building wistfully for a moment, but he was already caught. 

Without turning around, he heard Nova arrive, landing a second before White Tiger arrived, jumping from the building to their right. Cloak appeared next to Nova a second later, by the entrance of his heartbeat, and Dagger was right next to him. 

Miles swung up next to Peter at the same time Squirrel Girl climbed her way up the fire escape. Inhaling deeply, Peter turned, ready to face absolute rage from his teammates. 

“Impossible,” Doreen said, crossing her arms as she moved to stand next to White Tiger. Her red hair was pulled into a braid, almost the same color of Monkey Joe on her shoulder, giving Peter an unimpressed look. He quirked a brow from under the mask, getting into one of his best stand-offish poses. “Five years and his laugh is still adorable!” 

Iron Spider, who showed up sometime between her dramatic pause, gave a low whistle as if to agree. “We need to compare his cuteness levels with Mini-Spidey’s,” 

He made a big show of putting his hand on his chin and looking between Miles and himself. 

“I’m not cute!” Miles huffed out in protest, watching as even Nova cracked a smile. “I’m...I’m menacing! I’m dangerous! I’m--”

“About to voice crack,” Peter butted in, and immediately everyone turned to look at him, except for Miles, who was fuming silently to himself. 

Doreen was grinning, but he could tell Ava was scowling beneath her mask. Nova’s smile slipped off his face, after a moment of hesitation, and he tried his best to look annoyed (although it really made him look relieved). 

“He speaks,” Cloak said, suddenly. Peter cracked a dry smile from under his mask, but Cloak seemed to catch it. “Stop looking at him like he’s going to explode and talk to him,” He added, lifting a land from under his cloak to give Peter a thumbs up. 

With his encouragement, Peter stepped forward, rubbing the back of his neck somewhat sheepishly. “I can’t promise I won’t explode,” Dagger joined Cloak in a small grin, watching as Peter let his hand hang near his collarbone before dropping it back to his side. “I’ve been a jerk,” 

“That I can agree with,” Ava muttered, and Doreen elbowed her in the side. 

“I shut everyone out and didn’t answer any calls or texts or…” He let the lump in his throat build for a moment. “I didn’t tell you guys when I got back, and now I’m being even more of an asshole, asking you to help me after all of that,”

“Hey,” Nova butted in, his voice soft, straying from his usual tone towards Peter. “You don’t need to explain yourself,” He paused, feeling the heated glare Ava was giving him. “I mean, yeah, what you did was pretty shitty, but all of us did some pretty shitty things back then. I was mad at you for so long, I didn’t understand that...well, I didn’t want to understand that you were a lot more hurt than the rest of us. We were all caught up in our own heads,” 

He trailed off, and Peter could smell the salt from the tears building in his eyes.

“You lost so much,” Dagger said, pressing her lips into a thin line as she blinked rapidly. “We lost our friends, but you lost the only family you had...and someone who you wanted to be your family,”

“And your best friend,” Cloak added, softly, his voice low with emotion. 

“But that’s not true,” Peter blurted out, his hands shaky as he tried to control the tears welling up in his eyes. “You guys are my family. You’re my team! I’d risk my life for anyone of you...for all of you. I have…” 

Doreen was sticking a fist in her mouth to stop herself from bawling, and Miles grabbed Peter’s arm, pressing lightly into his side. 

“You’ve all done the same. You’ve seen me at my weakest, and you’ve been there for me. Hell, you’re all still here,” 

“You’re an idiot,” Ava broke in, uncrossing her arms as she approached him. Peter gulped, taking a step away from Miles. “You’re annoying, and you’re selfish, and you have the audacity to come to us like you didn’t just disappear,” She was a step away from Peter, and he braced himself for the punch that was to come. 

But it never did. 

She grabbed his shoulders, and Peter was ready to be thrown off the roof or something, but then the completely unexpected happened. 

She hugged him.

Well, it wasn’t COMPLETELY unexpected, back in high school they showed plenty of affection towards each other, and they hugged many times. 

But Peter had never seen an angry Ava back down from violence. 

Somewhere in between wrapping his arms around her in return and gently laying his head on her shoulder, he realized something: Ava wasn’t mad at him. 

“I’m stupid and selfish, and super annoying,” He said softly, letting them sway back and forth for a moment. “I’m ugly and reckless, and the worst friend ever,” 

“Don’t oversell it,” She laughed through her tears, pulling away slowly, but keeping her hands on his shoulders. “You’re my family,” She said, and Peter couldn’t help but blush. “And you’re still a pretty good friend,” 

“AWW, YOU GUYS!!” Doreen gave up on hiding her sobs, and she ran towards them, jumping towards Peter, who caught her in surprise. 

She kissed the top of his head, then bawled into his shoulder. Ava was somewhat smushed as well, but accepted the fact and continued to hug Peter anyways. 

“I love you guys!” Nova screamed from behind him, then wrapped his arms around Peter’s side, sniffling. “I can’t stay mad at you because I love you!!” 

“Woah, cool it down, Sammy,” Iron Spider also hugged Peter, somehow squeezing in on his other side. 

Cloak and Dagger smushed against Ava and Nova, managing to add to the group hug. Miles ended up clinging to Peter’s leg at some point, and he couldn’t protest against it. 

Peter couldn’t hold it in anymore, he let out a choked sob and broke down. 

Two in one week, he reminded himself but continued to cry anyways. 

At the genuine agony in the sobbing, everyone began breaking away from Peter, not knowing how to comfort him. 

Miles was the last to pull away, realizing that Peter was about to fall over. 

And he did. He fell into the crouch and cover his face with his hands, crying desperately while his team watched in confusion. 

“Peter,” Amadeus said softly, letting his faceplate retract as he kneeled to place a hand on his shoulder. “Buddy, you’ve gotta tell us what’s happening,” 

There were quiet murmurs of agreement, and Tyrone turned to Miles for an explanation. 

Miles, after seeing how broken Peter looked, silently shook his head and covered his mouth with a hand, turning to Tandy to bury his head into her shoulder. 

Sam also crouched down with Iron Spider, gently coaxing Peter to take his mask off.   
His sobbing was almost finished, and he was trying to control his breathing as Amadeus rubbed circles into his back. 

Sitting back on his heels, Peter kept his hands curled to his sides, trying to form the right words to explain. “I...I just,” He let Nova gently pull his mask back, revealing his red face and eyes, paired with the dark circles under his eyes. His bottom lip was still trembling, his brows creased in anguish. 

Sam took his own mask off, his eyes riddled with worry. 

“Take your time, Spidey,” Ava added, hovering over Sam’s shoulder with concern. He let out a long exhale, pinching his eyes shut. 

“No,” He managed, gently taking his mask back from Nova’s hands. “There’s a lot I need to tell you,” He stared blankly into the lenses of his mask, his brain racing for how exactly to tell everything to them. 

“What’s wrong? What...does this have to do with that whole crisis thingy?” Squirrel Girl ranted from somewhere near Miles and Dagger. 

Peter smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You know me,” His tone was laced with bitterness. “Always saving the world,”


	16. “I’m emotionally unstable, sleep deprived, and I have a plan,” -Peter, probably

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once Peter gets a pep talk from Miles, he heads out, his team in tow, to Avengers Compound. Although he invited basically every super hero on his list, he’s still surprised at the two people he wasn’t expecting to see, and he’s not prepared for their emotional ass-kicking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmokay I have no idea what I’m doing. Another Peter POV chapter because I can (nobody can stop me). I really just love the relationship between Peter, Ned, and MJ, it’s great. Comment or nah, also tumblr? (@thatonedudeinthecorner), I have fun and make memes. Talk to me about shit, or don’t, we having fun bro’s. Cool, I’m dipping out now.

Peter moved to the edge of the building, letting the silence of his teammates worry him for a few seconds.   
  
  


“Fuck, man,” There it was.

Sam was, of course, the first one to speak. After calming himself down enough to form complete sentences, Peter told them everything.

About how he fled to college, when he came back he made amends with Harley, Morgan, and Pepper and they were kind enough to give him a job in the lab. About how he found odd jobs, helped Miles with his homework between shifts, and recently started Spider-Manning when he worked up enough courage to get back into the field.

He told them about Fury getting back into contact with him, trying to ignore it, and eventually the phone call he received from Morgan Stark a few days prior. 

“Peter...do you need to take a break?” He turned his head slightly in the direction Doreen’s voice came from, but he shook his head lightly.

“I do,” He admitted, staring down at the city traffic crawling slowly into the distance. “But I can wait,” He turned fully to look at the younger hero, giving a dry sort of smile.

“You shouldn’t have to,” Ava said quietly from where she was hugging herself, leaning against the roof entrance. “After everything you’ve done for this city...for this world, you deserve to come first for once,”

Peter laughed. It was small but it was genuine. “I don’t. I mean, we’ve all done a lot, and every time we think we can finally slow down, something else comes up. It’s an endless cycle until someone ends up dead,” He turned his head sharply back to stare at his lap, letting a few more tears slide down his cheeks. 

“Deep,” Amadeus broke the stunned silence, uncrossing his legs and sitting up. “We used to be so optimistic…” 

“You’re right. I’m sorry, I just…”

“Do you really believe that?” Miles asked, and Peter had to fight the urge to flinch away, instead spinning around in his seat and standing.

He spotted Miles, who had also stood, giving Peter a determined look. His lower lip trembled, and his fists were clenched to his sides.

Peter didn’t have an answer for him, and instead cast his gaze downwards.

“You told me that there’s always something good in the world. You told me that...that no matter how bad everything looks, and yeah, it’s starting to look really shitty,” Peter finally brought his eyes up again, pursing his lips slightly at Miles’ words. Said boy was slowly inching his way towards Peter, taking a pause between each step. “No matter how bad everything looks, there’s always going to be an end. There’s always going to be some good left over in the end, and it’s going to hurt,”

Peter wasn’t even trying to hide his sobbing now, staring into Miles’s eyes, which held no tears.

“But we always get back up. We always win, even when we lose. Because we don’t give up. Because we aren’t _ afraid _anymore. You told me that no matter how much it looks like evil is taking over, no matter how much it looks like the end, we’re the good guys, and the good guys always win,”

“I think you’re quoting from separate occasions,” Peter snarked weakly, rubbing his eyes on the back of his hand. 

“I took some creative liberties,” Miles was in front of Peter now, and they looked at each other in silence for a moment.

Dagger was hugging Cloak, and Amadeus, Sam, and Ava were all watching this unfold patiently.

After staring at Miles for a moment, at _ his _ kid, at his _ friend _, Peter gently reached out, and pulled Mikes towards his chest, hugging him as he regained his wits. 

“I needed a reminder,” He said softly, letting Miles hug him back. They pulled away, Peter leaving his hands on Miles shoulder, and he scrunched up his face. 

“You aren’t going to kiss my forehead, are you?” Peter choked back a laugh, giving his teammates an incredulous look. 

“Well now I am!” He grabbed the sides of Miles head and kissed him gently atop his curls, shoving him away after, grinning.

His face was still red and so were his eyes, but his hope was back, baby, and ready to kick some ass. 

“You guys are dorks,” Doreen sniffled, Monkey Joe squeaking in agreement from her shoulder. 

They stuck their tongues out at her in unison. 

“So,” Peter scrubbed at his face for a few seconds, then walked over to the ledge, retrieving his mask. “I’m emotionally unstable, sleep deprived, and I have a plan,” 

Dagger pulled away from Cloak, her lips pulled into a thin sort of smile. “That’s the Peter we know and love,” 

“Aw, you love me?” They made kissy faces at each other, and the rest of his team gathered in a rough circle, Miles taking a step back to join in, grinning. “This is taking a sort of bipolar twist, but I’m changing the mood entirely because fuck me, I’m screwed up but that’s not our only worries right now. I’ve got a bunch of heroes, and vigilantes,” He winked at the group in front of him, watching as they all started to catch up with his sarcastic attitude, either smiling or rolling their eyes. “And they’re all going to Avengers Compound for a huge family reunion to celebrate the end of the world...again,” 

“Oh he’s playing leader, is he?” Ava snorted into a fist, then waved her free hand at Peter in a ‘go on’ gesture. 

“I have a theory of what exactly this new baddy is using to disrupt the timeline, and I’m a little iffy on the how to stop it, but it starts where the theory of time travel turned into a reality,”

He smiled lightly at the group of rag-tag supers in front of him, all of them placing their complete trust in him (well, he had his doubts about Sam, but he always did). This could work. This was going to work.

“How much do all of you know about the Thanos crisis?” 

...

Tandy teleported to the compound with Ty and Doreen left to drive Ms. Marvel on her bike. Amadeus put his mask on and took off, using some sort of tech in the suit to fly away, Iron Man style.

That left Ava, Sam, Miles and Peter, all watching each other carefully. 

“Do…” Peter cleared his throat, his mask newly replaced back on his face. “Do you guys need a ride or something?”

“You do realize that none of us have ever _ been _to the fancy Avengers Compound, because we’ve never had a reason to?” Ava crossed her arms, cocking a hip as the eyes of her mask slanted. 

Peter turned to where Iron Spider disappeared to, then back to Ava and Sam. “Well everyone else just fucking went for it I guess,”

Sam cracked a smile, punching Peter in the arm, his helmet still under his arm. “C’mon, Mr. Leader Guy, take us to your avengers quarters,” 

Peter rubbed his arm in mock offense. “Dude I’ve only got a room there because it’s like, mandatory or something,” 

“La la la not listening fancy pants avenger. You’re taking us,” 

“You just don’t want to pay for an Uber, right?” Sam quirked a brow at him, then slid his helmet back on, waiting expectantly for Peter to move. 

“How are we getting there?” Miles asked from somewhere to his left, closer to the edge of the building. 

“I called in a favor,” He turned to survey the two extra passengers that he was apparently bringing. “How do you guys feel about sitting three in a row?” 

“Are we taking a taxi?” Ava asked, almost impressed at Peter’s lack of vehicle. 

“You could call it that,” He smiled to himself under his mask, gesturing for them to follow him.

He led them down to the street, towards an alley where a beaten up looking NYC taxi was parked, some sort of rap music playing with the windows rolled down.

Peter made his way over to the drivers side window, crouching down to greet the man inside. “Whaddup Dopinder, been a while,”  
  


...

They watched as the rattling car backed up, making a U turn and then speeding off along the road, Peter raising a hand as a sort of goodbye. 

“Why did it smell like blood in there?” Sam finally asked, coughing a little at the smoke from the taxi. 

“You don’t wanna know, Nova, you really don’t wanna know,” Peter turned, waving at the security camera as the doors opened for him.

He glanced at his surroundings briefly as he made his way towards the entrance, noting the cars and Helicarrier taking up a huge part of the land.

Miles made no effort to contain his awe as they made it inside, his neck craned to look at every room and hall, reasonably bright with all the glass and white flooring. 

“Is that where—” He’d point out a lab or a room occasionally, then cut himself off and continue to stare in wonder.

Ava and Sam were less obvious about it, but they still took their time examining the interior. 

Peter pulled his mask off when he reached the double doors where, hopefully, there would be all of the worlds...the _ galaxy's _finest heroes. He tried to flatten his curls on his head, taking a deep breath before approaching the handles. 

“You’re going to do great,” Ava said from behind him, and he risked a quick glance over his shoulder at her.

Everyone had followed his example of removing their masks, and her hair fell smoothly down her back and across her right shoulder. She wasn’t smiling at Peter, not exactly, but he knew the expression she was giving him. 

“Your confidence in me is astounding,” He muttered in response, lifting a brow at her.

Her lips turned upwards, and she nodded at him. He turned back to the doors, placing a firm hand on each of the doors and _ pushing _.

They slid open easily, a slight noise at his entrance ringing across the room, all chatter immediately dying.

Every eye was on Peter (well, except Matt, because...y’know), varying expressions turned in his direction. He scanned the familiar faces, some of them he hadn’t seen in years, a few he doesn’t even remember.

Ava, Sam, and Miles scurried in behind him, fading into the crowd but sticking fairly close to him. 

He walked further into the room, maintaining eye contact with the few that tried to catch his eye. He made it to his destination, Dr. Strange, slowing to a stop.

He glanced over each shoulder, spotting Harley and Shuri staring at him, amused, to the right.

To his left stood the avengers out of time, an air of tightness surrounding the group. He risked a glance at Tony, giving a sort of half smile before he turned back to Stephen.   
  


“Are we ready to party?” His voice came out a lot calmer than he felt, his heart betraying his false confidence.

It bounced around the silence in the room, and some sort of invisible barrier dropped.

Dr. Banner and present day Thor were in the far back, switching their gazes from Peter to their past selves, as if looking for an explanation.

Pepper was gripping Morgan’s shoulder not far from them, smiling lightly at Peter when he looked. 

“That depends on you,” Dr. Strange replied, his expression changing from some sort of scowl to content. “You are the one that called us here,” 

“Yeah, Peter,” Shuri called, and Harley had to hide a snicker. “What the fuck is going on?” 

“_ Language _,” Half of the room chorused, then laughed. 

“I have a great reason!” Peter managed between laughs, turning in a sort of circle to face everyone as he spoke. “Not a happy one, I’m afraid,” Jessica Jones booed from somewhere to his right, and Like Cage shushed her. “The world is in danger,” 

“Bro, when is it not?” A new voice piped up, and Peter turned, surprised, as he tried to spot him. Everyone agreed in murmurs, waiting for Peter to banter back. But of course, wherever he was, so was—

“Yeah nerd, what is it this time?” He found them, stopping his desperate spin to try and pinpoint the source.

He broke into a grin, rushing up to Michelle Jones and Ned Leeds, his best friends who weren’t supposed to be there. 

He stopped in front of them, giving Ned a look. “Someone is messing around with the time stream,” He said, and everyone showed some sort of distaste, but Peter was more focused on the two in front of him. “Where the hell did you two come from?”

Ned gave him a sly sort of smile. “I have my ways to find out what kind of trouble you get into,” Peter glanced at Michelle for a moment, then turned back to Ned.

“Harley told you,”

“Harley told me and I told MJ,” He admitted, looking a little sorry. “We need to talk,” 

“I’m sort of in the middle of something,” He gestured vaguely over his shoulder, trying not to sound as sarcastic as he was being. 

“Peter,” MJ warned, and he turned to look at her, finding a more serious tone under her worried eyes. 

“I can’t just…” Miles appeared between Ned and MJ, having seen the exchange from across the room. 

“We can handle this, you’ve explained it to me like three times,” He quickly glanced over his shoulder at Matt and Wade, who gave him gestures of reassurance, then back to Miles.

“Fine. _ Fine _ . But only because I’ve already talked about it today. I’ll be back, _ soon _,” He gave MJ a look, then patted Miles on the shoulder, slipping out through a side door while Dr. Strange started talking again. 

It was a courtyard of sorts, trees and benches lining a cobblestone path and a small pond near the other side of the room. He made it a few paces in, hearing the door close behind them, before he turned to face his two friends. 

“Peter, you’re killing yourself,” MJ started, very bluntly before he could open his mouth. 

“It’s nice to see you, too,” He commented dryly, and she rolled her eyes. They embraced quickly, then he turned to Ned and they did their handshake, also hugging at the end. 

“Wade told me about everything you’ve been going through,” Ned said before pulling away, giving a hesitant smile at Peter before he backed up. 

“Has he never heard the term snitches get stitches?” Peter huffed, turning to glare at the door they just walked through. 

“That’s not the point,” He practically whined, and then gave an exasperated look to Michelle. “We’re worried about you,” 

“I’ve been hearing that a lot lately,” 

“Well maybe you should’ve made the connection by now that you’re giving us a reason to worry,” MJ chose her words precisely, watching as Peter turned back to them with a sigh. 

“I know,” He was faced with unimpressed stares. “I _ know _ , okay? Tony flipping Stark is back, I’ve had about five panic attacks in the last two days, the world is in danger of being destroyed at any second, I’m _ trying _ to figure out a way to save everyone, but I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. I’m tired, I’m stressed out, and I don’t think I can handle another heart-to-heart right now,” He took a few deep breaths before pushing past them, walking further down the path and towards the pond. 

They exchanged a glance behind his back, then started to follow. “It seems like you’re more self-aware than usual,” MJ caught up to him, keeping her pace a step behind him. 

“I must be pretty fucked up right now, huh?” He laughed bitterly, plopping down on the grass in front of the water.

There were a few koi swimming around, one seemingly watching Peter with rapt curiosity. He didn’t feel particularly angry or depressed at that moment, having gotten all of his tears out barely an hour or two prior. 

Ned collapsed next to him, leaning on his hands to keep him upright. He stared at Peter for a few seconds, just watching his expression while Peter watched the fish. “We love you, you know that,” He said, quietly. Peter grumbled out that it was sappy, but nodded anyways. “You know that we care about you,” 

Peter turned his head to give Ned a face. “You guys are my best friends. If you didn’t care you could've let me bleed out on numerous occasions,” 

  
“He’s not wrong,” Michelle sat down on the other side of Peter, laying on her back as she stared at the sky through the glass ceiling. “You’re pretty easy to kill when you’re unconscious,” 

“Thanks, MJ,” 

“I try,” 

“Not helping,” Ned signed, leaning over and pressing his head against Peter’s shoulder. “It’s okay to bail on this one, dude, nobody would blame you,” 

“It’s funny,” He rested his head against Ned’s, closing his eyes for a moment. “You aren’t the first person who’s asked me if I need to duck out on this one,” 

“You know he won’t,” MJ sighed from her place on the grass, stretching her arms above her head and letting them flop to the ground. “He’s stubborn and won't give up once he’s started something,” 

“You know me so well,” Peter muttered, exhaling deeply as he flopped beside MJ, leaving Ned the last one sitting up straight. “Maybe I do need a break,” He said, staring at the clouds, his mind wandering with the atmosphere. “Maybe I’m not okay, and maybe I need a nap,” MJ snorted, and Ned finally gave up, letting himself fall back to stare at the sky as well. “But I can’t,” 

“Why not?” Michelle whispered, already knowing the answer. 

“I’ve got a responsibility,” He let his eyelids flutter closed, resting his hands on his stomach. Ned let out a breathy laugh to his left. “Yeah yeah. I’ve got the ability to help so many people. I can lift a building over my head, sense when a bullet is about to come my way, stick to the fucking ceiling,” He sighed, letting his hands play with the hem of his shirt as he talked. “If I have all of these powers and I don’t _ do _ anything with them...If I ignore the problems that need to be solved, and let people get hurt...then what’s the point? Why did I try to be a hero in the first place? I can’t just...not save the world. Somebody fucking has to,” 

“Amen,” MJ added softly, turning to look at Peter’s creased eyebrows, his eyes shut tightly. “You’re not the only one who can help…”

“But you’re still going to,” Ned finished for her, not even glancing in Peter’s direction as he nodded. 

“I might be an idiot most of the time, but for once I have a plan. For once I’m the...I don’t know,”

“You’re the leader of this mission,” Ned joked, letting his eyes close as well. “Captain Parker!” 

“I’m going to sink this goddamn ship, MJ can be the Captain,” 

“I’d be a tyrant, admit it,” 

“Yeah, most likely,” 

“Then it’s a co-Captain situation. I’ll be co-Captain to Peter’s co-Captain to MJ’s co-Captain. Like the government. Checks and Balances, we won’t let you get out of control but we will let you fuck some shit up,” 

“I like this plan,” MJ grinned, sitting up on her elbows. “How much corrupting do you think I can do?” 

“Too much,” Ned cracked one eye open, watching as MJ slid to her back once more. “What do you think, Peter? How chaotic are we going to be?” 

Silence.

They both sat up, glancing at Peter, who fell asleep with his mouth open, a line of drool already starting to fall from his mouth. He looked younger. Somehow at peace. Ned grinned at MJ, letting himself fall back once more. 

“He loves it,” 

“Keep telling yourself that, _ Guy in the chair _,”


	17. Everyone talks about Peter’s sex life and he’s somehow not surprised at how much information they have

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter wakes up from his nap and wants to be pissed and MJ and Ned but he can’t...well, not forever. He also freaks Tony out with the accusations from Harley that he’s slept with half of his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who isn’t dead? Yet? It’s coming, I’m going to get the corona virus. Soon. I’m ready for the deathy. Anyways, I kept trying to remind myself to actually work on this and then I’d get sidetracked or only write two lines of dialogue and then bail. It’s a short chapter but I had fun writing it. Hopefully more serious stuff to come? Maybe like...angst. Probably angst, I’m an angsty boi, don’t judge me. Okay, comment or don’t, I do love comments though!! I have a tumblr? (@thatonedudeinthecorner) so like, look at my memes there. Aight, that is all. Byyyyeeeee

* * *

Peter woke up an hour later, sitting upright with a single jerk, looking around the room in a panicked state.

Only a moment later, once his senses had calmed down, did he realize the slight ache at the back of his head.

Then he heard it.

  
“Owww,” He blinked his eyes groggily, rolling to his right and out of Ned’s lap. Said man was holding his nose, glaring at Peter with little heat. “That’s the last time we cuddle, Mister, it’s decided,” 

“What? Where did I…” He looked around, watching MJ grin at him from her spot next to Ned, both of them giving him a sort of mischievous look.

Then everything started coming back into his sleep clouded brain.

“What the _ fuck _, guys,” 

“He mad,” MJ muttered, and Ned moved his hand away from his nose, giving Peter his famous ‘it was for your own good’ face.

“You weren’t supposed to let me sleep!!” They exchanged a glance, something Peter was well versed with. “No, no no no, you’re not allowed to turn this into one of your Peter charity schemes! I was supposed to explain everything, I was going to help Miles,”

He sat back on his heels, crossing his arms over his chest, his hair falling into his eyes. “Stop looking at me like that!” He whined, pouting at his two friends. 

“Peter, you were _ exhausted _,” Ned followed Peter’s movements with his eyes, watching as he stood up shakily and ran a hand through his hair. “As soon as you sat down you passed out,” 

“Yeah, I don’t know how much you’ve abused your sleep schedule, but you’ve definitely been ignoring your body,” Michelle gracefully got to her feet, helping Ned up as well. “Bad Parker, stop being self-destructive,” 

“Bad Parker,” Ned added on, wagging a finger at him.

“I will throw you into this pond,” Ned’s hand slowly went down, and he took a single step back. “That’s what I fucking thought,” 

MJ opened her mouth to probably dunk on him, but Luke Cage burst through the door, closing it behind him quietly as an afterthought.

“Hey Mini-Jones, Pepper was wondering if you were—” He paused, his eyes going to Peter, who was mid step towards Ned, then to MJ and Ned, who both gave him weird looks. “Ah shit, did I wake him up?” 

“Everyone knew!!!” Peter couldn’t help his voice going hoarse for a moment, and his ears became hot a second after.

Luke crosses his arms over his chest, shifting uncomfortably for a moment as he looked anywhere but at Peter. 

“Well, no. Maybe. I have to leave,” He turned around and slammed the door behind him quickly before Peter could force him back in. 

He turned on the other two. “Now now, I don’t like that look in your eyes,” Ned tried, peeking from over MJ’s shoulders. 

“What look,” Peter grit out, knowing very well how hard we was glaring.

“That one. That one right there. That’s the same look you had right before you threw that hotdog stand at Harley,” 

They stared at each other for another few seconds, and then Peter’s resolve began to crumble. His chest constricted for a moment, and he held in his next exhale for as long as he could. 

“Pffffffft—” He let out a long drawn out giggle, clutching his sides as he leaned over. “Okay okay, ow ow ow, ribs, oh ho ho, your face,” He snorted, doing a somersault to his back, rolling around a bit as he laughed hysterically. 

“Did we…” He could hear Ned approaching, seeing his face appear above him a moment later. “Did we break him?” 

“Yo Parker, you broken?” Michelle called, her face joining Ned’s as she grinned down on him. 

“Only on the inside,” 

“Nah, he’s fine,” MJ held out a hand, and Peter grasped it quickly, letting her pull him up. 

“I’m mad at you two, but I also know I can’t be mad because I’m a bitch and you two are usually right,” They exchanged a glance again while Peter tried his best to pat his unkempt hair down, but to no avail. “This doesn’t change the fact that they’ll probably think we had a threesome or something. You _ know _ how Harley gets,” 

“Who says we didn’t?” Ned reached up and quickly messed up Peter’s hair even more, ducking out of his reach and towards the door. 

“Ned!” Peter charged at him, leaving MJ to casually watch from a few steps behind, grinning as Peter shoved Ned through the door. 

“Losers,” 

Peter ended up stumbling into the other room, Ned landing on his butt by the sheer force of Peter ramming into him. Peter has time to survey the room before he tripped over Ned, collapsing into his lap again. 

He glared at Ned with little heat as he looked up at his smirk. “This means nothing,” 

“You wish it meant something,” They stuck their tongues out at each other, only interrupted when someone cleared their throat. 

“Well somebody had fun,” Peter slid out of Ned’s lap, hopping to his feet and glaring at Harley from his spot across the room.

It had cleared out in the past hour, and only the Web Warriors, the out of time Avengers, and the geek squad remained (which included Shuri, Harley, and Morgan). “Welcome to the world of the living,”

“I wish I was gone for good,” Peter grumbled, ignoring MJ as she helped Ned to his feet. “Don’t give me that face, you knew about this,” 

“Oh?” Harley has trouble disguising the mischievous glint in his eye with innocence, but in the end he batted his eyelashes at Peter like the theater kid he was. “Who’s to say I know anything more than the fact that you disappeared with your _ friends _ for a little over an hour. Who’s to say what occurred in such a time,” 

“I hate you,” Peter sulked, stuffing his hands under his armpits as he pouted. “I hate all of you so much,” 

“Funny, that’s not what you told me in bed,” Harley winked, the stare off ruined by Shuri’s snort.

“Holy shit he went there,” She waved MJ over, who dragged Ned over by the back of his shirt. 

“Don’t worry, Peter’s gonna say something just as stupid,”

Tony looked between the four of them in absolute confusion, Bruce hiding his reaction by stuffing a fist in his mouth.

Peter didn’t know how much they’d interacted with the heroes of the future, but he didn’t know if he wanted to find out.

Especially not with the face Morgan was giving him.

He steeled himself, raising his chin to Harley’s attempt at a sex joke.

“Bold of you to say, especially when you only lasted _ two minutes _,” He dropped his tone to emphasize the time, then basked in the ooooooooh’s that Shuri emitted.

“Holy _ shit _, he went there,” She shook MJ’s shoulder. She grinned back at the shorter girl, her eyes flicking to Peter’s for a moment. 

“I called it,” She replied, nudging Ned out of his awe. 

“They do this all the time but it still astounds me how _ shameless _ they are,” He added, trailing Peter’s figure as he approached them. 

“Obliterated,” He poked Harley in the chest as he walked past him, moving to throw an arm over Morgan’s shoulder. 

“Wait wait wait,” Tony, who had watched the entire scene play out from the sidelines, stepped closer to Peter. “Are you telling me...you two…”

The utter disbelief on his face almost made Peter lose his shit then and there, but he waited to see Harley’s reaction. 

“Ah, Stark, you’ve missed out on a few _ wonderful _ years,” He gave a second wink to Peter. Tony turned to Peter as if to confirm. 

“He’s crazy,” He bit his lip to keep from smiling. 

“Crazy about you, boo,” 

“Shut the _ fuck _ up,” 

“I don’t even want to think about this,” Tony pinched their bridge of his nose, as if that would somehow erase his memory of the current topic.   
  


“And I don’t want you to think about it,” Peter grinned, trying to keep his mind on the present, not letting his mind linger to his past trauma. “So we’re all in agreement to just drop it!!”

He shot Harley a look at the end of his sentence, but he just wiggled his eyebrows in response. 

“Peter, you’re really going to ignore Harley? After you two…” He raised an eyebrow at Shuri, as if to dare her to continue. She pulled her lips into a thinner smile, matching his gaze. “_ Fucked _,” 

“I fucking swear—”

“Makes me just a little bit less regretful that we never went that far,” 

The entire room went silent, only broken by Peter’s long sigh.   
  


“Her too???” Her heard Tony practically scream, but Peter was too busy drowning in his embarrassment. 

“No, not her,” He tried to defend himself, but Shuri hummed to cut him off. 

“That’s not the same attitude you had when I stuck my tongue down your throat,”

Again, there was a sort of stunned silence in which all the heads went from Peter to Shuri, Ned letting out a breathy laugh between the exchange. 

“Will you two stop that!”

Peter finally snapped, trying to express his anger by taking a few steps away from all of them, waving his hands around a few times.

“Harley, I don’t remember us ever fucking so it’s either you trying to flirt somehow, or I was _ very _ drunk,” Harley made a heart with his hands at Peter. “And Shuri, maybe we made out, like, in highschool, but I doubt it. I was…” He glanced at MJ quickly, then coughed into his fist. “Preoccupied,”

“I kissed Peter once,” Sam butted in, appearing over his shoulder. 

“I...actually can’t argue with that one, we did make out once,” They fist bumped, ignoring everyone’s varying degrees of shock. 

“Can we change the subject?” Morgan squeaked, her face flushed red.

Peter’s ears started burning when he realized exactly how many people had witnessed this, and he happily nodded with Morgan. 

“I dunno, I kinda wanna know what my chances are to tap that ass—”

“_NED_!” 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so hear me out. I’m not so good at this whole “writing” thing I’ve been doing, but I’m doing my best, alright!! Gosh I’m just hoping this goes somewhere important. I’ll try to update as much as I can with my wack inspiration schedule. Please feel free to leave comments and completely diss this story, my self esteem has been up recently, hit me with your best shot!!


End file.
